This presentation is a brief introduction describing the emerging class of software collectively labeled 'social software,' examining several implementations, and also taking a look at where this might be leading.
Shirky argues that while the Internet as a medium can scale, our ability to function socially does not, inevitably transforming bi-directional community into uni-directional audiences (which don't have problems scaling). While in many ways true, there are ways being explored, specifically in the realm of 'social software' to help alleviate the scaling problem.
Take any well-branded cereal, for instance -- one of those packages of sugar-coated corn meal with a recognizable cartoon character mascot on the box. What's the content there: the cereal, or the cartoon character? Is the animal cartoon a communicator of the product's brand image, or is the food itself merely a medium through which the character is communicated? It's a tricky distinction.
Posted by leonard on Wednesday, Oct 8 @ 9:17PM