social networks

Social Networks could be good for your mental health…

January 27, 2008 By Dan Thornton

I recently read an article on psychologist Oliver James, and his book defining the ‘Affluenza‘ virus – the physical and mental illnesses that can come from constantly putting too high a value on money, possessions, appearance and fame.

James claims that the fact English-speaking nations are more Affluenza-stricken, and have rates of mental illness twice as high as nations in mainland Europe. (Interestingly, books I’ve read about Swedish culture, for example, point to the idea of ‘lagom‘ – doing just enough to do well, without being ostentatiously super-successful)

So, and here’s the interesting bit, if constantly being bombarded with superstars on TV can lead to Affluenza-stricken people comparing themselves unfavourably to TV characters, then Facebook etc could actually boost their self esteem and mental wellbeing.

Because, after all, Facebook puts you in touch with your peers, equals, and friends. So you can compare yourself to people who are on an equal footing – and suddenly things don’t seem so bad. (Obviously it doesn’t work quite as well if you start stalking superstars).

So, ignore the superstar accounts set up by PR companies, and start connecting with people who you share something in common with. It’ll make for more meaningful conversations – and make you saner…

The internet will always develop new niches… make them yours…

October 20, 2007 By Dan Thornton

Ever wondered why networks tend to grow more quickly if they allow groups of self-form?

It’s because, no matter how well you know your subject and your customers, you’ll never predict their most interesting motivations for starting a group. And the ones that you might dismiss can end up being incredibly popular…

Take, for example, the Lolcat Bible… a wiki constructed to translate the Bible into the language of those lolcat pictures you’ve doubtless seen around the internet.

(Spotted thanks to a post on Dana Boyd’s blog)

Now would you have created a group for people interested in creating a Lolcat Bible? Would you have been able to quantify how many people would be interested in contributing, and how many people would then view it? Would you have even guessed Lolcatz would take off?

Me neither.

But by allowing anyone using your website to make their own choices, decisions and ideas, you’ll capitalise when one of their groups does take off. If you’re trying to explain it to the type of people who inists on quantifying everything by Return on Investment, you could try explaining that rather than spending time and money on second-guessing how to force people into categories, you’ll be hiring an unlimited number of people to do your research and development for you, and then reaping the benfits…

Still not convinced? Take a look at Wikipedia’s list of internet phenomena, and see how many you recognise. Then take the list round your peer group, and prepare to be shocked how many people who you’d have thought closely shared you interests will have radically different knowledge (Idea taken from The Long Tail…see reading list, right)…

One of the biggest joys of the internet is the fact you can find people, products and information on pretty much anything you might need, want, or be interested in. So why would you ever want to stop people experiencing that joy?

Even the industries you think get Web 2.0 can miss…

October 19, 2007 By Dan Thornton

When you imagine the markets which should be embracing the internet, communities, and engagement, you’d imagine marketing, PR, and media would be all clamouring to be at the forefront of the list.

So it was a bit of a shock when I noticed a distant Facebook friend had been banned from using the social network whilst at work. At a PR firm…

In a world where the broadcast model of traditional PR and media will become less and less effective, I’d be making sure my employees knew Facebook, and their business contacts, incredibly well. Rather than emailing 400 journalists with one stock message, why not spend time looking at their profiles, their interests, and their hobbies. Find out what makes them tick away from work, and use all that information to invidually target the most receptive journalists and outlets…

And increasingly you’ll be needing to reach an army of bloggers, and amateur writers. How will you even find them without building a network now?

Or you could just send out a mass email and hope it isn’t caught in a spam filter or deleted…

The most powerful networks…

October 9, 2007 By Dan Thornton

It’s easy to debate who are the biggest players in social networking, whether you’re a Myspace fan, Facebook obsessive, or quoting the Latin, Asian, Indian or Brazilian audience of Hi5 or Orkut. (Incidentally, I signed up for Orkut today, completing my membership of the big four and I have to say, it feels a bit unfinished…seems like it’s all back end, no front end.)

But there’s one social network which could be more influential, if not pervasive. There are times when I take it for granted, but Xbox Live is truly one of the great networks of our time.

With the box next to my TV, I can play games on and offline, and watch DVDs. I can also download demos of games, new content for existing games, and complete smaller arcade games, including the likes of Sonic The Hedgehog and old arcade games.

When payment is required, it’s a one button confirmation, billed to my credit card with pre-paid points.

And the same points can be used to purchase downloadable videos etc, with pay-per-view films coming to the UK soon.

If I’m playing a different game to my friends, one button brings up a list to message them, or invite them into private voice chat, whilst I can continue to play. And I can compare the achievements of all my games, to those of my friends

And I can listen to custom soundtracks from CD’s, or my portable hard drive, at the same time as doing all of this.

15 years ago (Making me feel old), this would have seemed about as likely as jetcars, as I carried my 486 to someone’s house for a LAN party using ethernet cards, lots of shouting, and eventually some four player Doom.

And how many hours have I put in? I know there are at least two games which have claimed my time of at least 50 days each…And another 15 or so games on my played list.

I know the service is a walled garden, with a small window looking out at Windows Live Messenger, and a skylight from which a feed can escape to sites displaying gamertags, and even blogs written by Xbox 360s. But, like Facebook, it’s so comfortable, that trying to escape is like trying to rouse yourself from a comfy armchair after a Sunday roast dinner.