Blogging as Social Activity, or, Would You Let 900 Million People Read Your Diary?  

'Blogging' is a Web-based form of communication that is rapidly becoming mainstream. In this paper, we report the results of an ethnographic study of blogging, focusing on blogs written by individuals or small groups, with limited audiences. We discuss motivations for blogging, the quality of social interactivity that characterized the blogs we studied, and relationships to the blogger¡¯s audience. We consider the way bloggers related to the known audience of their personal social networks as well as the wider 'blogosphere' of unknown readers. We then make design recommendations for blogging software based on these findings.

Nardi, Bonnie A., Diane J. Schiano and Michelle Gumbrecht. Comcast (2003). Articles>Web Design>Blogging>Social Networking

Friend or Foe? Web 2.0 in Technical Communication  

The rise of Web 2.0 technology provides a platform for user-generated content. Publishing is no longer restricted to a few technical writers—any user can now contribute information. But the information coming from users tends to be highly specific, whereas technical documentation is comprehensive but less specific. The two types of information can coexist and improve the overall user experience. User-generated content also offers an opportunity for technical writers to participate as “curators”—by evaluating and organizing the information provided by end users.

O'Keefe, Sarah S. Scriptorium (2008). Articles>Web Design>Technical Writing>Social Networking

Leading Your Company into the Wikis, Blogs, and Social Networks of Web 2.0

In this podcast, I talk with Alan Porter, vice president of Operations at WebWorks, about the Web 2.0 technologies they’re using to reach out to their customer base. In addition to using blogs, wikis, and social networks to connect with customers, WebWorks also uses wikis to facilitate communication and collaboration within their company.

Porter, Alan J. and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2008). Articles>Interviews>Web Design>Social Networking

Leveraging Collaborative Environments

Meet Scott, age 28, with a Dunkin' Donuts cup costume, a web site, a MySpace page and an archive of compelling brand content that, by the way, happens to rank number four in a Google search for the brand name. Scott is among the legions of brand enthusiasts who are knocking down the walls of the traditional "us versus them" brand relationship, demanding to be let in and be a part of the brand experience.

Key, Rob. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Web Design>Collaboration>Social Networking

On a Scale of 1 to 5: Understanding Risk Improves Rating and Reputation Systems

Where would we be without rating and reputation systems these days? Take them away, and we wouldn’t know who to trust on eBay, what movies to pick on Netflix, or what books to buy on Amazon. Reputation systems (essentially a rating system for people) also help guide us through the labyrinth of individuals who make up our social web. Is he or she worthwhile to spend my time on? For pity’s sake, please don’t check out our reputation points before deciding whether to read this article.

Kirtland, Alex. Boxes and Arrows (2008). Articles>Web Design>User Experience>Social Networking

Ready for Life in Transparencyville?

Before you jump up and down about social media and the wonderfully transparent world it is creating, consider the consequences. There’s just no way to prevent those outside your walls from looking in. Leaky information, errant e-mails and inappropriate instant messages now have the capacity to become very, very public. If there's one lesson that communicators need to take away from the new social media, it's how to operate in a world of transparency.

Fernando, Angelo. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Web Design>Collaboration>Social Networking

Social Media Is Changing Everything

When Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwarz needs to communicate with the world, he doesn’t necessarily call a press conference, issue a press release, or even convene a webinar or videoconference. He blogs. His online diary gives him an unfiltered channel leading to the employees, customers, analysts and resellers who represent the first wave of perception formation regarding important company products and service initiatives. Sun is leading a transformation of the communication profession, as the Web transitions from an information repository to a platform of collaboration and community building.

Gronstedt, Anders. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Web Design>Community Building>Social Networking

Social Networking for Business: Measuring the Results

The online world is abuzz with talk about social networking. With companies such as Facebook seemingly constantly in the news, 2007 has been the year that social networking took its first adolescent steps beyond being the sole purview of, well, adolescents, and started to become a tool that is getting noticed in the business world. But with all the hype out there about online social networking, how can organizations begin to better understand the tangible business impact of their forays into this area?

Carfi, Christopher. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Web Design>Community Building>Social Networking

Social Networks And Group Formation: Theoretical Concepts to Leverage

Understanding the formation, evolution and utilization of online social networks becomes important. While the Internet contributes to the information overload, it also provides useful tools to effectively manage ones social networks and through them gain access to the right pieces of information.

Singh, Shiv. Boxes and Arrows (2007). Articles>Web Design>Community Building>Social Networking

Systems That Get Better the More People Use Them

In Publishing 2.0, Tim O'Reilly says Web 2.0 is 'any network effect that makes a system better the more people use it.' Web 2.0 isn’t just user-generated content; it’s harnessing the collective intelligence of your users to make your system better.

Johnson, Tom H. I'd Rather Be Writing (2008). Articles>Documentation>Web Design>Social Networking

Types of Social Media Measurement

Social media measurement sounds like an inherently good idea. Management likes numbers, and if we can measure it, we can manage it. So, all this new online activity should be easier to understand, once we measure it. There's only one problem: What does social media measurement mean? Like social media itself, it is an evolving term with multiple definitions based on the needs of different constituencies.

Gilliatt, Nathan. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Web Design>Community Building>Social Networking

Web 2.0: The Medium is the Message, But What's the Result?

Let's face it: These are tough times to be a professional communicator. Our audiences have taken the reins of what is indisputably the dominating mass communication medium of our era: the Internet. Web 2.0, characterized by social media applications for peer-to-peer collaboration such as YouTube, MySpace and Wikipedia is challenging all of our basic assumptions as communication practitioners. The astonishing rise of social networking structures and content is in effect challenging the very existence of the traditional corporate communication function.

Kealey, Caroline. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Web Design>Community Building>Social Networking

Why Web 2.0 Matters: Preparing for Glocalization

Technologists and designers have differing views focused on either the technology and standards or the experience. Even Wikipedia seems confused and cumulative definitions are not inclusive. Buzzwords associated with Web 2.0 include: remix, tagging, hackability, social networks, open APIs, microcontent, personalization. People discuss how the web is moving from a read-only system to a read/write system and they focus on technologies like GreaseMonkey, Ajax, RSS/Atom, Ruby on Rails. Of course, others talk about the paradoxical relationship between openness and control. The reality is that when people talk about Web2.0, they're talking about a political affiliation with The Next Cool Thing, even if no one has a clue what it is yet. Personally, i don't find comfort in any of the business, technological or experiential explanations. Yet, i do believe that a shift is occurring and i find myself emotionally invested in it. So then i had to ask myself: what is Web2.0 and why does it matter? The answer is glocalization.

Boyd, Danah. Zephoria (2005). Articles>Web Design>Localization>Social Networking

Turning Web 2.0 Into Business As Usual

Web 2.0 is hip, trendy, and reminiscent of catch-phrases from the Dot-com boom when just about anything related to binary was so “Now.” Experts are frantically pushing non-digital natives to get on board with Web 2.0 absolutely yesterday, if not sooner. The good news is if you’re reading this article online, there’s a good chance you have already been onboard with Web 2.0 principals for quite some time. The question is, have you been using them effectively?

Harris, Kerri. TechCom Manager (2008). Articles>Web Design>Business Communication>Social Networking

Facebook Groups vs. Facebook Pages

Many nonprofit early adopters of Facebook set up groups as their organizational hubs because that was the only option. Later, Facebook Pages were introduced and many nonprofits have set these up as their institutional hubs. There has been some discussion in nonprofit forums, blogs, and listservs about the pros and cons of Facebook Pages versus Groups. Below are the notes I've drafted on the topic so far.

Davies, Tim. Tim's Blog (2008). Articles>Web Design>Community Building>Social Networking

How and Why to Build an Online Community

A community has to be grown wild and organically or it will fail. Control comes with time and growth. The success of a community and its size may vary. The effort may not give expected results but the work still pays off in knowledge and experience. Community members will change and accept different roles and participate in different manners. Being user friendly and being willing to allow change to happen is most important.

Hiveminds (2008). Articles>Web Design>Community Building>Social Networking

Why Are Online Communities So Popular?

In An exploration of the internet publishing revolution, I discussed the implications of the increased self-publishing on the web. The discussion covered general concerns and possible impacts of the sudden growth, but not the reasons behind it. What has prompted the expansion of people’s voice on the web? Where have these communities of bloggers and posters come from? Why have they arisen? In this article I intend to find answers to these questions and ask: ‘What makes online communities so popular?’

Mercurytide (2006). Articles>Web Design>Community Building>Social Networking

Web 2.0: A Very Short Introduction

A profound change is happening on the cutting-edge of web development: we are relinquishing control of information. No longer are sites working independently from each other; no longer is information sitting in isolation with no interaction between sites. Rather, the best web programmers are now creating sites that allow information to be reused anywhere.

Mercurytide (2005). Articles>Web Design>Interaction Design>Social Networking

Portable Social Networks, The Building Blocks Of A Social Web

Social networks as we know them—MySpace, Facebook, Twitter—each keep identity and personal relationships separate from one another. Every time you join a network, that information has to be duplicated, by hand, by you. It’s a familiar process, but in 2008 we have the tools to break that trend.

Ward, Ben. Digital Web Magazine (2008). Articles>Web Design>Wireless Web>Social Networking

Integrating Social Media into a Web Content Strategy

Outside of the tech industry, skepticism and fear are the norm when it comes to social media. But it is simply about finding the best way to communicate with an audience. Social media consists of the same content already in use: text, audio, images, and video. The difference lies in its ability to open up new channels of communication.

Parrott, Britt. Digital Web Magazine (2008). Articles>Content Management>Web Design>Social Networking

Building Viral Marketing Tools  

One of the best ways to spread the word about your website is to let your audience do it for you.

Walter, Aarron. Building Findable Websites (2008). Articles>Web Design>Marketing>Social Networking

Social Publishing ≠ Social Networking - So What Is It?

John Willis recently published a post that equates social publishing with social networking. While the post is pretty good, and I agree with most of the points, I need to correct the bit about the definition of social publishing. It’s way more than social networking. Let me explain.

Whatcott, Jeff. At First Light (2008). Articles>Content Management>Web Design>Social Networking

Experience Attributes: Crucial DNA of Web 2.0

The industry has spent a lot of time defining Web 2.0 and mapping its DNA. But as we attempt to emulate the fast-growth success of the Web 2.0 darlings, we need to zero in on the parts of the DNA that actually create this noteworthy new value.

Schauer, Brandon. Adaptive Path (2005). Articles>Web Design>User Experience>Social Networking

Web 2.0: The Tipping Point for XML    

Have you been waiting for the right time to switch to XML publishing? O’Keefe illustrates that with the advent of Web 2.0, the time is now.

O'Keefe, Sarah S. Intercom (2009). Articles>Web Design>XML>Social Networking

Keep Your Web 2.0 Community Happy

Running a web community can be fun and rewarding, but you’re always reliant on the good faith of your members. So what happens when rogue elements threaten to disrupt, even destroy, the foundations of your virtual society? Derek Powazek has some suggestions

Powazek, Derek. Dot Net (2008). Articles>Web Design>Community Building>Social Networking