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September 17, 2003
Social Networking: Is There an Educational Model?
Posted by Liz Lawley
Here at RIT, some of us keep tossing around the idea of a social-software-focused curriculum. But the question that plagues us--and that has to be answered before we can move forward--is whether the need we're trying to address actually exists.
If
Tony was right, and what's happening right now is the "the beginning of something huge, the point at which Internet 2.0 finds its metier," it would seem that there might well be an emerging market for skilled workers in this domain.
So, what do _you_ think? (Particularly those of you who are exploring the
business model for social networking, and thinking about hiring as your businesses grow.) Is there a need for an undergraduate program in this area? For a graduate program? If there were such a thing, what skills would you want students to gain during their study? And would you recruit graduates? (Don't worry, these are non-binding answers!)
Comments (7)
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1. Marc Canter on September 17, 2003 1:38 PM writes...
When I first started reading this post - I thought it was headed towards "how social networking will help in teh educational process - students helping each other, peer networks, etc." But no! You're just trying to fill up the coffers of trained social software engineers. Right on! But we want the former too - right?
Permalink to Comment2. Bill Seitz on September 18, 2003 10:02 AM writes...
I think there are areas that would make good independent study projects/programs, esp using interdisciplinary teams (CS, anthro, economics, psych).
But trying to have a more formal program targeted toward immediate employment seems likely to create some people who will be permanently unemployed 5 years later. Like designing a "webmaster" major in 1998...
Permalink to Comment3. Frank Ruscica on September 18, 2003 11:30 AM writes...
Liz,
Great question. The short story here is that credibly sustainable social networking business models must recognize that digital socnets are really an app -- the market is next-gen lifelong learning and career services (LLCS). Toward understanding the relationship, consider: according to a recent American Demographics survey, couples in the U.S. meet primarily at work (36%) or school (27%).
Much more on this coming online at www.opportunityservices.com...
(Incidentally, according to marketing eminence Geoffrey Moore, equating an early-stage market with its 1.0 app is fairly common practice: desktop publishing -> PC; ATM machines -> fault-tolerant computing, etc.)
The ideal socnet curriculum, then, would educate students to expedite the fulfillment of the promise of the burgeoning LLCS sector.
Full details of the appropriate curriculum are beyond the scope of this comment, but here is a quick (partial) list:
-- Semantic web technologies (and graph-related CompSci topics more generally)
-- So-called "Open Book Management" (see www.saic.com/about/obm.html for an intro, and Jack Stack's book A Stake In The Outcome for full details)
-- Operations research (re: optimizing blog ad sales, etc.)
-- Actuarial math (re: designing intelligent student loans, etc.)
-- Investment analysis (re: developing "opportunity maps" for LLCS clients)
-- Contemporary education theory (Multiple Intelligences, constructionism, etc.)
-- ...
Hope this helps...
Permalink to Comment4. Lindon Parker on September 18, 2003 10:05 PM writes...
Franks comments are very interesting, however I hold an almost inverse view, LLCS is the app, or amybe niche the technology would aim at(like DTP)
The underlying "market" is in the social networking knowledge, a little like CompSci's definition of Networking Services. So Businesses looking to sustain themseleves from Social Networking would therefore need a social networking expert.
Experts would therefore be able to sustain a career beyond the LLCS niche, so not really anyting like a webmaster as an earlier post infered.
However I agree with Frank about his ciricullum suggestions.
Permalink to Comment5. Frank Ruscica on September 19, 2003 7:34 AM writes...
Lindon,
Thanks kindly for the feedback. To clarify, my hypothesis is that credibly sustainable LLCS providers will run free, Google-like (i.e. advertiser-supported) socnet services (i.e. Friendster substitutes). Only because my reasoning is too detailed for this format, see www.opportunityservices.com (I am not trying to spam via comments! :-) Full details will be coming online in the coming days...
Permalink to Comment6. molly steenson on September 23, 2003 11:49 AM writes...
My job title speaks directly to this: I'm Associate Professor of Connected Communities at the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea in Ivrea, Italy -- we're a graduate design institute, and what I lead is the social networks practice...
I'll write more about how we're integrating this into our curriculum later today...
Permalink to Comment7. Frank Ruscica on September 23, 2003 3:56 PM writes...
Molly,
Sounds good. I'll check back later...
Thanks,
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