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March 1, 2004
danah boyd on Friendster
Posted by Clay Shirky
danah boyd's
ethnographic research on Friendster has been accepted at CHI, the Computer-Human Interaction conference.
Fundamentally, context is missing from what one is presenting. On one hand, an individual is constructing a Profile for a potential date. Yet, simultaneously, one must consider all of the friends, colleagues and other relations who might appear on the site. It can be argued that this means an individual will present a more truthful picture, but having to present oneself consistently across connections from various facets of ones life is often less about truth than about social appropriateness.
Another argument is that one is simply performing for the public, but in doing so, one obfuscates the quirks that often make one interesting to a potential suitor. Notably, most users fear the presence of two people on Friendster: boss and mother. Teachers also fear the presence of their students. This articulated concern suggests that users are aware that, in everyday activity they present different information depending on the audience. Given the task of creating a Profile, users elect to present themselves based on how they balance the public/private dimension.
Congratulations, danah! (PDF taken from her page of
published work, home of much other goodness.)
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