<p>I was working with a client yesterday and came up with what I think is a great metaphor and way to frame how social networks are helpful, and how some of them are useful in particular ways.&nbsp; I started describing how the different networks are like rooms in a house and here I’ll go a little deeper and perhaps spur a discussion using this framing.&nbsp; If each kind of social network is a room in a house, which is which and how might they help us with our work and play?</p> <p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=630445854&amp;amp;ref=profile#/profile.php?id=630445854&amp;amp;ref=profile" title="Connect with me on Facebook">Facebook</a> (or <a href="http://myspace.com/albertkaufman" title="Albert on MySpace">Myspace</a>, Friendster, or what have you) to me are one’s rec room or living room.&nbsp; These networks are colorful, full of pictures and are great places to entertain – you can create an event and see who is coming or post something you’d like to share such as an article, music or video – something that typically would be experienced in one’s living room.&nbsp; The space is somewhat cozy, friendly and a good place to find friends old and new.&nbsp; It’s becoming more a place to find collaborators for projects, but still leans heavily on the casual and recreational.</p> <p><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/albertkaufman" title="Let's connect on Linked-in">Linked-in</a> and <a href="http://biznik.com/members/albert-kaufman" title="Connect with me on Biznik">Biznik</a> are places to network on work-related topics.&nbsp; Thus, I think of them as the office, in my case, the home office!&nbsp; These sites are all about business and peoples’ profiles are basically their resumes, though there is a softening of the edges as more participants add links and streams to their blogs or Twitter feeds.</p> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/albertkaufman" title="Follow me on Twitter">Twitter</a> to me is the attic.&nbsp; It’s a creative and private space (or at least has that feeling, though anyone can find out what you’re tweeting at anytime.&nbsp; But it reminds me of a place one would retreat to to use their ham radio – a private, quiet space for learning and a bit of madness.&nbsp; Twitter, like all of these networks is still finding its feet, and I think most would agree that all of these networks are not really sure what their use is yet, though there are plenty of signs they may become more useful in the future.&nbsp; Twitter, to me, seems to be on the cutting edge of something – and that something seems to grow daily.&nbsp; One day we’re seeing newspapers sharing twitter feeds on certain topics (anything with Obama or Merkley in it that came from a Portland Twitterer during election day streamed across the Oregonian website – and these streams can get updated at a maddening pace, but are a great way to see who in your town cares about politics or any other subject as much as you do.&nbsp; Using <a href="http://albertideation.wordpress.com/2008/11/07/living-in-a-house-of-social-networks-a-new-frame-for-social-networking/www.tweetdeck.com/" title="Get Tweetdeck here">Tweetdeck</a> or another Tweet aggregator is a great way to find people who are engaged in a topic or cause that you’re interested in.&nbsp; My cause is population growth, so I have a tweetdeck stream that constantly searches the Twitter universe for anyone that uses that word combo.</p> <p>Then there’s the kitchen – and I guess any of the networks above could also serve up the kind of fun and interesting gossip and stories that one would share over a cup of coffee and some apple crisp.&nbsp; But my favorite social network (could also have the aspect of a bedroom) in this respect is still <a href="http://tribe.net/" title="Tribe rocks!">Tribe.net</a>.&nbsp; The kinds of conversations and tribes found there are a bit more edgy and folks that push the envelope have longer talks about the issues that interest them.&nbsp; Where Facebook feels scrubbed clean, Tribe.net has more of a late night anything goes kind of feel.</p> <p>And there are more parts of the house, I’m sure – feel free to suggest more to me on this blog or via e-mail @ albertkaufman@gmail.com</p> <p>Welcome to your home of social networks!</p> 2008-11-07T19:25:34Z -15.3138 569 2172 true 15 19309 living-in-a-house-of-social-networks-a-new-frame-for-social-networking 12 2008-11-12T12:58:51Z 2008-11-12T12:58:51Z

I was working with a client yesterday and came up with what I think is a great metaphor and way to frame how social networks are helpful, and how some of them are useful in particular ways.

0 2009-02-24T09:47:01Z