Social Software Design for One

Social Software Design for One
Thomas Vander Wal
Presented to: DCampSouth
2 June 2007 :: Raleigh, North Carolina
InfoCloud Solutions, Inc. - 2007

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫ ∫
The Math of ÷
∛
Social Software... ∑
+
÷
-
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫
∫
∛ Design with + not x, ÷
nor complex algorithms ∑
+
÷ -
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫
∫
÷
∛
1 Person
∑
+
÷
-
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫
∫
÷
∛
1 Service
∑
+
÷
-
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫
∫
÷
∛
1 “Friend” +
∑
+
÷
-
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫
∫
÷
Person now sees “2”
∛
+
- Self & Friend
∑
+
÷
-
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫
∫
+
Designer & Developer
÷
∛
see this as doubling
∑
use in the service
+
÷
-
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫
∫
+
Designer &
÷
∛
Developer see “3”
∑
+ (2 people and the tool)
÷
-
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫
∫
∛ Designer & Developer÷
usually see in multiples ∑
+
÷ -
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫
∫
Person adds 1 more
÷
∛
“friend” & ﬁnds +
∑
richness
+
÷
-
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫
∫
Designer &
÷
∛ Developer see
+
service multiplying ∑
+
÷
and scaling -
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫
∫
÷
∛
follow costs & revenues
∑
+ through formulas
÷
-
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫
∫
÷
∛
sees social network as
∑
spikes in service use
+
÷
-
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫ People view social
∫
÷
networks as single
∛
connections with
∑
+ other people ÷
-
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫
∫
I met Zorba on the

People express the beach in Greece as
he was dancing
and singing by
himself

÷
∛
richness with another
+
person by a story
∑
+ about the person ÷
-
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫ People value the
∫
÷
∛ relationship
between others
∑
+ & services ÷
-
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫ People see a
∫
÷
connection to their
∛
network through
∑
+ the tool/service
÷
-
∓
∛ -÷∑ + ∛
∫
∫∓ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫
∫
A person’s network
÷
∛is comprised of
∑
individuals (1s)
+
÷
-
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫
∫
People use the social tool if it
÷
∛
works for managing & connecting
∑
the individuals in their life
+
÷
-
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫
∫
People see 1 + 1
÷
∛
& Designer & Developer
∑
see multiples
+
÷
-
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫ Successful service ∫
÷
∛
designers & developers
have their sight on the
∑
+ person & personal needs
÷
-
∓
∛ -÷∑ + ∛
∫
∫∓ +
∛ ∓

+
∓
x ∑
∛
÷ -
+ ∑ ÷
∫
∫
÷
∛
Are you focussed on 1 + 1?
∑
+
÷
-
∓
∛ ∑
- ÷ + ∛
∫
∓
∫ +
∛ ∓

The Focus of the Web
has Changed


Was

I Go Get Web
We sought “their” information
❖

Focus on content provider
❖

One device
❖

One use
❖

Proprietary formats
❖

Findability focus
❖

Development metaphor was navigation
❖


Is

Come To Me Web
“My information” is found or created
❖
Focus on person using
❖
Reuse
❖
Attracting and keeping attracted
❖
Across devices
❖
Open formats
❖
Reﬁndability focus
❖
Development metaphor is attraction
❖


Attract to Where?


Personal
InfoCloud


InfoClouds

Global InfoCloud

Personal
InfoCloud

Local
InfoCloud External InfoCloud


Local InfoCloud
Portals
Location
Social
Software

Local
InfoCloud
Friends
Afﬁliations

Near in
Work
Thought
Organizations


People

Trust

Resources

Trust

Devices

Trust

Personal Information
Workﬂow


Design for Personal Workﬂow

Person-centered
❖

Access to information
❖

Organization
❖

Tasks, actions, context aware
❖


Personal Info Cycle
Seeking
Local
InfoCloud

Recognizing
Global
InfoCloud

Personal
Retaining/Storing InfoCloud

Using/Creating

Following


Information is needed


Everywhere


Everywhere with
Context

Foundation for Development

❖ Build around & for people

❖ Capture perceptions, needs, &
uses/reuses

❖ Design information for adaptability


Attraction Receptors


MOA - Receptors

Perceptual
Intellectual

Physical Mechanical


Sharing


Spheres of Sociality
Mob
Collective
Selective
Personal


Directional Sociality


All Relationships
Are Not Equal


Real Relationships
Self Friend

Self Friend

Self Friend

Self Acquaintance

Self ? Stranger
?


Public & Private


Unequal Access

Public
Private


What Is Tagging?


Tagging: Deﬁnition

Simple data/metadata externally applied to
❖
an object
Used for sorting
❖

A hook for aggregating
❖

Provides identiﬁer and/or description
❖

Personal markers
❖


The “F” Word


Folksonomy


Folksonomy: Deﬁnition

❖ Folksonomy is the result of personal free
tagging of pages and objects for one's own
retrieval

❖ The tagging is usually done in a social
environment (shared and open to others)

❖ The act of tagging is done by the person
consuming the information

http://vanderwal.net/folksonomy.html

Folksonomy:Value
The value in this external tagging is derived
from people using their own vocabulary
and adding explicit meaning, which may
meaning
come from inferred understanding of the
information/object.

People are not so much categorizing, as
providing a means to connect items
(placing hooks) to provide their meaning in
their own understanding.


“The beauty of tagging is that it taps
into an existing cognitive process without
adding much cognitive cost”

Rashmi Sinha
http://www.rashmisinha.com/archives/05_09/tagging-cognitive.html


Every person is an
expert in their own
vocabulary (tags)


Every Tag is Sacred


Folksonomy Triad
Object Identity
Interest

Deﬁnition
Vocabulary

Metadata


Dual Folksonomy Triad
Object Identity
Interest

Vocabulary
Culture

Deﬁnition

Terminology
Community Metadata


The Business Value
of Tagging


Business Tensions
Naming control People’s vocabulary

Sample groups Every perspective

In-house Outside service

$$$ w/ value $ w/ unknown value

Consistent Emergent


Cold Start Problem


Understanding Scaling


Scaling and Functionality
A - Personal Use
D
B - Serendipity
C C - Social Tagging
# People Tagging

Mature
B D - Complex Social
System
A

Times Object is Tagged

Phases of Interaction
Saving and tagging
❖
❖ Reﬁnding
❖ Clicking, pivoting, exploring
❖ Searching
❖ One’s own tags
❖ Other’s tags
❖ Group
❖ Everybody
❖ Group Social Interaction


Personal to Social
Social
Personal Serendipity Complex
Mature
X X X X
Save & Tag

X X X X
Reﬁnd

X X X
Pivot & Explore

X X
Search

- X
Group Interaction


Social Web Ecosystem

~ 88.9%
Consumer

~ 10.%
Creators

~ 1%
Developers

~ .1%
Platform


Contact

E-mail: thomas@infocloudsolutions.com
E-mail: thomas@vanderwal.net
AIM: vanderwal
YIM: tjvanderwal
Skype: tjvanderwal


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