SI: Spring_2014

This article serves as a brief introduction to social informatics. Examples such as computer networks, scientific communication via electronic journals, and public access to the Internet are used to illustrate key ideas from social informatics research.

"While extraverted men and women were both likely to be more frequent users of social media tools, only the men with greater degrees of emotional instability were more regular users. The relationship between extraversion and social media use was particularly important among the young adult cohort. Conversely, being open to new experiences emerged as an important personality predictor of social media use for the more mature segment of the sample."

Abstract"The model of problematic Internet use advanced and tested in the current study proposes that individuals' psychosocial well-being, along with their beliefs about interpersonal communication (both face-to-face and online) are important cognitive predictors of negative outcomes arising from Internet use. The study examined the extent to which social anxiety explains results previously attributed to loneliness as a predictor of preference for online social interaction and problematic Internet use. The results support the hypothesis that the relationship between loneliness and preference for online social interaction is spurious, and that social anxiety is the confounding variable."

Abstract:"As more people connect to the Internet, researchers are beginning to examine the effects of Internet use on users' psychological health. Due in part to a study released by Kraut and colleagues in 1998, which concluded that Internet use is positively correlated with depression, loneliness, and stress, public opinion about the Internet has been decidedly negative. In contrast, the present study was designed to test the hypothesis that Internet usage can affect users beneficially. Participants engaged in five chat sessions with an anonymous partner. At three different intervals they were administered scales measuring depression, loneliness, self-esteem, and social support. Changes in their scores were tracked over time. Internet use was found to decrease loneliness and depression significantly, while perceived social support and self-esteem increased significantly. "

In keeping with the topic of digital social media becoming a "new community" : Seniors aged 65 and over represent one of the fastest growing age groups to use social media.

This article was very recently published by "The Atlantic", and I found that it helped me understand net neutrality a bit more along with our readings for this week.

"SAN FRANCISCO -- The network-sharing agreement between Comcast and Netflix has likely buried the idea that providers of high-speed Internet connections into U.S. homes have to take into account anything but market forces when setting prices for their service. In other words, Net Neutrality is dead."

Network neutrality is the principle that Internet users should be able to access any web content they choose and use any applications they choose, without restrictions or limitations imposed by their Internet service provider.

What happened to free internet??? I only get free wifi at certain locations, and I remember in 1999 that there was a huge discussion about free access for everyone... all the time. Would that have included all content?

In a ruling that could have serious implications for the way Internet access is regulated in the United States, the Washington, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this morning that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) does not have the authority to impose so-called 'net neutrality' rules on Internet service providers (ISPs).

"Why does Facebook have the same appeal as gated communities? Is distraction more concerning than addiction? How do video games like World of Warcraft value friendship? Bracing yet reassuring, often surprising, and always substantive, Craig Watkins acts as an honest broker, testing the contradictory claims often made about young people's digital lives against sophisticated fieldwork."

"Researchers in Italy have used two high-speed computer algorithms to analyze the connections between a large sub-set of the more than half a billion users of the social networking site Facebook to reveal that the system has a very strong structure. The study shows that Facebook has a well-defined community structure that follows a statistical power law in which there are a huge number of people with few connections and a much smaller number with a large number of connections."

Here is an article about how intel has a division of social scientist which study how people are using technology.

U.S. libraries of all types continue to make increasing use of social media and Web 2.0 applications and tools to connect with library users and to market programs and services, according to a report published in November 2010 by the South Carolina State Library. However, the report, based on a survey of more than 900 library administrators/managers, librarians and other staff, does indicate that while many libraries are using social media "voraciously," a few are not using them at all.

Many businesses, cultural organizations and other institutions are leveraging social media to achieve their strategic goals. While many libraries already have a social media presence via Facebook and Twitter, how are libraries considering social media as part of their core communication and engagement strategies?

This is a podcast I listen to and it has an episode on "Talking Machines" where it talks a lot about AI bots on the internet. I found it very interesting.

This reminds me a lot of the database that the Philip K. Dick android draws from. The responses he gives and his facial expressions are pretty convincing. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/books/review/how-to-build-an-android-by-david-f-dufty.html?_r=0