social network theory

Unfortunately, I was not able to meet with Mark and Lisa yesterday, but adding my two cents here..

The idea of social alienation due to a technologically powered future is not specifically unique, it has birthed a whole genre of science fiction, including the likes of blade runner, the matrix, etc.  What we are possibly discussing is the fact that we have created a false sense of intimacy through the use of our techno/interfaces.  We have been raised with a cultural fear of the potential of alienation through technology, and so people have developed devices/interfaces to help defeat the alienation.  We are encouraged to connect with people via facebook, myspace, use email, inhabit second life, blog, etc., yet we (the authors of this paper) seem to feel that these are still missing something.  Some essence of face to face communication that we need to feel a true personal connection.

One can look around and see how pervasive this false sense of intimacy is within our virtual lives.  Friends post stories and pictures of themselves that they may be shy to share in person, adapt alter egos to reflect something that would like to amplify about themselves, and we update our personal profiles on bebo or facebook, as if that will make us better known.

What does that mean to be better known?  To be known by more?  Personally, my use of social networking sites is merely to keep in touch with people I already know.  In fact, in most cases, the people who I already have email addresses and phone numbers for.  So what is it doing for me?  In many cases I talk to these people less than I did before.  I can see that they're still alive and doing well, why give them a call?  Why try for personal interaction?

Is there an inherent aspect of the techno/interface that causes alienation?  Or perhaps it is actually a secret yearning.  We all want to exist in our own private bubble,and the further we can get from contact with others the better?   It is a pretty horrific existence to contemplate, yet when you walk down the street, most people are plugged into their own private distractions, only willing to be interrupted by that which they already know and are comfortable.

There is a whole theory behind social networking, which is being adapted to many fields, but most aggressively marketing.   Social Networking views the relationships (ties) between individuals (nodes) as the import context for interaction.  Loose ties have less relevance than strong ties.  One of the supposed futures of social networking is the concept of a "small world" where we are all connected.  A recent study has confirmed that there is a truth behind the concept of 6 degrees of separation from any random individual on the earth (actually 6.6 according to the study).  So if the world is so small, why does it still feel so big?