Social Interactions
The social in Social Web implies more than technology, more than the networks where people post photos and review books: It’s less about the what and more about how, why, and among whom that distinguishes the Social Web from earlier, transactional online technologies. The term social refers to the ways in which people connect friends, requiring a two-way acknowledgment of a relationship is different than more casually associated followers, for example.
The term social also provides insight into why they are connecting perhaps to learn something, to share an experience, or to collaborate on a project. As such, a great place to start learning about the Social Web and its connection to business is with the basic relationships that are created between participants in social networks and social applications, and to then look at the types of interactions between them that follow
It is the relationships and interactions between participants that connect community members and define the social graph, a term of art that means simply who you are connected to (e.g., your friends or followers), and what you are doing. The social graph is to building relationships what ordinary links between websites are to building an information network They define the social connections. Without the social graph without the profiles and friends, followers, and similar relations that form between them online social communities are reduced to task-oriented, self-serve utilities much as a basic website or shopping catalog might present itself.
People Want to Make Friends
Friending the mutually acknowledged linking of profiles within or across defined communities is the cornerstone of collaborative social interaction. Just as in real life, the various relationships that exist between profiles (people) often imply certain aspects of both the nature of the expected interactions and the context for them.
Relationships at a club or church are different in context and therefore in expectation from relationships in a workplace, for example When someone elects to follow another on Twitter, or inside an employee network built on a platform like SocialText, there is likewise an expectation of value received in exchange for the follower relationship, all within the context of the network in which this relationship has been established. People create relationships to exchange value, at some level, with others in and through that relationship
Compared with a website where navigating a self-service library of content is a typical interaction path—the extension of a link between profiles and the formation of a relationship between the people they represent is a fundamental requirement for value exchange between community members. Without these links, people can post content, rate submissions, and similar—but to what end? YouTube is a great example of The Social Graph is the collection of links, relationships, interactions, and other connections that comprise a social network. Wikipedia has more on social graphs here
Club Membership Brings Expectations
In the preceding discussion of relationships and interactions and their importance in the development of a strong sense of shared purpose within a community, left aside was the question of how the social norms or rules of etiquette are established and maintained within a community. Cyberbullying, flame wars, and the general bashing of newbies clearly work at cross-purposes with almost any online community development effort. In the design of any social interaction be it as simple as posting on Twitter or as complex as driving innovation in an expert community the policies that define and govern the conduct of participants are of utmost importance
To maintain order and a defined sense of decorum, the practices of moderation along with the implementation of policies also known as Terms of Use are fundamentally important. While there are entire texts on these topics, there are some core concepts that should be part of any community effort within a social business program. Effective moderation the guiding of participants and conversations within the bounds set by the Terms of Use is likewise key to the successful implementation of a community or collaborative workspace.
