Online identities

Rheingold:

"... are relationships and commitment as we know them even possible in a
place where identities are fluid? ... We reduce and encode our identities as
words on a screen, decode, an unpack the identities of others."

and Mark Poster:

"Without visual cues about gender, age, ethnicity and social status,
conversations open up in directions that otherwise might be avoided."

Both in "Cyberspace, Cyberbodies, Cyberpunk", p. 90

If we relate this to Facebook where we have all the information of the other persons if they are added to our friends list? In how far would we communicate in the same way as we did when we had an anonymous nickname and avator, not linked to our identities in Real Life. If everything can be linked to our person, will this decrease a sense of need for personal expression? Will opinions that don't agree with that of the general public be closed down in fear or repercussions?

There is something that could be said about the safety of anonimity. That you can say what's on your heart, without having to think about the future and outcomes that are impossible to be foreseen at this moment .. Here comes to mind the posting of pictures where you're drunk, partying, smoking pot or just anything that might conflict with future interests of companies or other entities.

The need for pseudonyms might be greater then we think.

Flock

There is something quite strange with being able to check on your friends updates, browser flickr, and stumble through YouTube in the same browser window. For this I installed the beta version of the browser Flock, the browser with a social flavour. We'll see how this turns out and if this changes my online behaviour.

Blogged with Flock

Meeting 6/7

Results of the meeting with Gavin on 7/6/2007.

• Questionnaires have fundamental problems. Identify those problems and keep account of that fact while doing the research.
• It is important to keep ethics in mind when doing research. Add a statement to the questionnaire telling the questionnaire is only for 18+ and that everything will stay confidential.
• It is important to look after yourself and the people who participate in the survey. Be reflexive in everything you do. Ask yourself questions and try to find the answers to them.
• What is going to happen with the questionnaire? What are the different steps that have to be taken to insure a valid end result?
• Give the subjects the right not to answer certain questions (*Other).
• Create a specific research question from which you can draw multiple hypothesis.
• Think of the research in 3 parts: "this is what I want", "this is what i have", "this is what i learned". The most important is the first part, since it leads to the second, which ends in the third.
• Consider the option of a follow-up of the questionnaire: for example in-depth interviews. This means including the possibility at the start of the questionnaire.
• After the research is complete, which are the ways it can be taken further? Be reflexive in thinking of ways or paths which could still need more research.
• Did you get everything you wanted to find out?
• Is there a specific time people are more prone to fill in questionnaires?
• How can the results of the research be put back in the community? Website, publishing etc.

Books:

• "Cyberculture Reader" - Communities in the abstract (chapter)
• "A social history of the media"
• "Cyberplay"

Questionnaire

Why do people start facebooking in the first place. What attracts to these pieces of online networking software? Is it friends, the coverage in the news, hearing people talk about it ... ?

So question I should ask in my questionnaire should be:

• Age
• F/M
• Profession

- How is it that you got interested in using Facebook?

• Friends
• Family
• Collegues
• Read about it
• Other: ...

- How many times do you log in to Facebook?

• A couple of times a day
• Once a day
• Once every few days
• Once a week
• Less

- What is the average time you spend on Facebook with each visit?

• Shorter than 15 minutes
• Between 15 and 30 minutes
• Between 30 and 60 minutes
• More than 60 minutes

- Where do you access the Facebook site most often?

• At home
• At work
• At the library
• Other: ...

- Since when are you a member of Facebook?

- What do you expect from an online networking service like Facebook?

- Answer every question with a number from 1 to 5:

• 1: Strongly agree
• 2: Agree
• 3: Neutral
• 4: Disagree
• 5: Strongly disagree

1. I use Facebook to stay in contact with people who are family.
2. I use Facebook to stay in contact with people I consider to be close friends.
3. I use Facebook to stay in contact with people I consider to be friends.
4. I use Facebook to stay in contact with people I consider to be friends but rarely see.
5. I use Facebook to stay in contact with people I know but (almost) never see.
6. I use Facebook to meet new people.
7. When I'm on Facebook I check the profiles of people who are family.
8. When I'm on Facebook I check the profiles of people I consider to be close friends.
9. When I'm on Facebook I check the profiles of people I consider to be friends.
10. When I'm on Facebook I check the profiles of people I consider to be friends but rarely see.
11. When I use Facebook I check the profiles of people I know but (almost) never see.
12. I use Facebook to share pictures with my friends.
13. I use Facebook to share videos with my friends.
14. I add everyone to my friends list, whether I know them or not.
15. I stay in contact with everyone on my friends list.
16. I use Facebook to arrange meetings in person.
17. I often look at my own profile.

- Answer every question with a number from 1 to 5:

• 1: Very often
• 2: Often
• 3: Regular
• 4: Not often
• 5: Never

1. I send private messages to people I often see.
2. I send private messages to people I rarely see.
3. I send private messages to people I never see.
4. I tag all the pictures I upload.
5. I poke people on Facebook.
6. I write notes on Facebook.
7. I send gifts on Facebook.
8. I create events on Facebook.
9. I join events on Facebook.
10. I join groups on Facebook.
11. I actively participate in the groups I've joined.
12. I use third party applications.

-

- When do you check out other peoples profile? (rank in order of importance)

1. After a private message sent by someone.
2. After you've been poked.
3. After you see a message from their profile in your news feed.
4. After you see them in your friends list.
5. Other: ...

- What are the aspects of Facebook you like the most?

- Have you ever considered leaving Facebook? If so, why?

Virtual Communities

From "Communities in Cyberspace"

“Several writers have expressed fears that high involvement in virtual community
will move people away from involvement in real-life communities, that are
sustained by face-to-face, telephone and postal contact. [...] Such fears are
misstated in several ways. For one thing, they treat community as a zero-sum
game, assuming that if people spend more time interacting online they will spend
less time interacting in “real life”. Second, such accounts demonstrate the
strength and importance of online ties, and not their weakness. As we have seen
in the previous section, strong, intimate ties can be maintained online as well
as face-to-face.” (p.181)

While strong ties can be maintained online, when does your network become too big to sustain those strong ties without losing your face-to-face strong ties. In the end, when you a problem, would you rather know that someone out there is thinking about you, trying to help you, or have someone near, a close friend for whom it's easier to support you.

When do you spend too much time online, spreading your time over a lot of people, maintaining the weak ties, and the occasional strong one, while, in a way, neglecting those ties that are closest to you.

Out of personal experience I know that once you start 'facebooking' it can easily become a sort of addiction. Trying to see what people are up to, checking everything out, hoping for new messages from your friends. While it is a great way to stay in contact with those you can't meet every so often, or even less than that, it's a timesink.

Additionally, with the rise of 'applications', little pieces of software users can use, coming from third parties, increases the interactivity within the online communities. There are many new ways to keep in contact with people you know, besided text messaging .. ranging from book and movie recommendations, to superpokes, horoscopes etc...