Sociology and, of and in Web 2.0: Some Initial Considerations

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 67-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Beer ◽  
Roger Burrows

This paper introduces the idea of Web 2.0 to a sociological audience as a key example of a process of cultural digitization that is moving faster than our ability to analyse it. It offers a definition, a schematic overview and a typology of the notion as part of a commitment to a renewal of description in sociology. It provides examples of wikis, folksonomies, mashups and social networking sites and, where possible and by way of illustration, examines instances where sociology and sociologists are featured. The paper then identifies three possible agendas for the development of a viable sociology of Web 2.0: the changing relations between the production and consumption of internet content; the mainstreaming of private information posted to the public domain; and, the emergence of a new rhetoric of ‘democratisation’. The paper concludes by discussing some of the ways in which we can engage with these new web applications and go about developing sociological understandings of the new online cultures as they become increasingly significant in the mundane routines of everyday life.

2013 ◽  
Vol 146 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hallvard Moe

Social networking sites have become staples in everyday life in many parts of the world. Public service broadcasters have ventured on to such services, aiming to reach new users. This move triggers a line of question about the borders between the public and the commercial, the control of content and the shifting power in media policy. Focusing on the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's use of Facebook, this article offers insights into what exactly is new about the challenges posed by social networking sites, and explores how this instance of hybrid arrangements impacts on our understanding of public service media.


Author(s):  
Ines A. Mergel ◽  
Charles M. Schweik

Web 2.0 technologies—what we prefer to call the “Interactive Web”—have become frequently used tools in the public sector. These tools include social networking applications such as Twitter, Facebook, Wikis, or RSS feeds. Public sector agencies are using blogs to communicate information on public hearings, wikis to coordinate work or share expertise and intelligence information, and social networking sites to communicate with citizens. These kinds of applications create a public sector paradox. On the one hand, they have the potential to create opportunities related to key public sector issues of transparency, accountability, communication and collaboration, and to promote deeper levels of civic engagement. On the other hand, information flow within government, across government agencies, and between government and the public is often highly restricted through regulations and specific reporting structures, and therefore usually delayed through the filter of bureaucratic constraints. The authors provide an overview of drivers encouraging the adoption of Interactive Web applications, but also transformative organizational, technological, and informational challenges ahead that might lead to resistance to that change.


2013 ◽  
pp. 1451-1474
Author(s):  
Ines A. Mergel ◽  
Charles M. Schweik

Web 2.0 technologies—what we prefer to call the “Interactive Web”—have become frequently used tools in the public sector. These tools include social networking applications such as Twitter, Facebook, Wikis, or RSS feeds. Public sector agencies are using blogs to communicate information on public hearings, wikis to coordinate work or share expertise and intelligence information, and social networking sites to communicate with citizens. These kinds of applications create a public sector paradox. On the one hand, they have the potential to create opportunities related to key public sector issues of transparency, accountability, communication and collaboration, and to promote deeper levels of civic engagement. On the other hand, information flow within government, across government agencies, and between government and the public is often highly restricted through regulations and specific reporting structures, and therefore usually delayed through the filter of bureaucratic constraints. The authors provide an overview of drivers encouraging the adoption of Interactive Web applications, but also transformative organizational, technological, and informational challenges ahead that might lead to resistance to that change.


Author(s):  
Danielle Fishman

As a result of the changing times, the constant overuse of recently discovered information communication technologies (ICT’s) has become a detrimental trend in contemporary society. There are a number of issues that arise from the regular use of these technologies which ultimately lead to the misuse of certain capabilities of these technologies. Web 2.0 (DiNucci, 1999), became the subject of discussion in the early 2000s. Web 2.0 identifies the newly popularized social networking sites on the World Wide Web which allow an interaction between the host and the user where the user has the ability to respond, comment or offer feedback to the host. It has been used to describe the idea of information sharing, feedback and ultimately, ubiquitous connectivity. As a result of the current Web 2.0 we engage in, there is a trend toward the constant use of social networking sites ultimately leading to participatory surveillance (Albrechtslund, 2008). Furthermore, the constant posting and updating required to manage your profile on social networking sites leads to new surveillance (Marx 2002) and sequentially, what has been termed lateral surveillance (Andrejevic, 2005). In addition, the development of location based technologies, for purposes of monitoring, have been integrated into popular social networking websites. The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design and collaboration on the World Wide Web. A Web 2.0 site allows users to interact and collaborate with one another in a social media dialogue as creators of user-generated content in a virtual community. This differs from the previous Web 1.0 websites where users (consumers) were limited to the passive viewing of content that was created for them. In turn, these activities are extensively popular and through the network effects of that popularity, economically significant (O’Reilly, 2005; Tweney, 2007; Madden and Fox, 2006). Finally, in accordance with the prosumer society, monetary gains are the primary focus of companies and furthermore, there has been a trend toward selling private information by internet website hosts in order to profit. The harnessing of collective intelligence within Web 2.0 demands platforms where this intelligence can be expressed and collected.  Furthermore, in an age of growing technology, new legislations must be created in conjunction with the growing use of personal information. In a time of extreme internet use, our privacy is limited. With a growing trend toward the integration of Web 2.0 in daily life, it is clear that the relationship between privacy and surveillance is dramatically changing. We, as users, are naive in understanding the concepts of privacy and surveillance in the Web 2.0 society. Social networking systems and information sharing has blurred our ideas of privacy and limited our understanding of the use of surveillance. In a growing age of a prosumer society and the culture of social networking, users are inadvertently exposed to living an entirely public life.


Author(s):  
Kirby America

In recent years, communicating with others online has grown exponentially and social networking sites such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook have now become popular forms of communication, especially among the youth. In social networking, communication mostly occurs within the public domain. Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, stated that ‘privacy was no longer a social norm’ (Johnson, 2010). If you sign up to any social networking site, it is expected of you to share information within the public domain. Why else would you have a Facebook account? Zuckerberg goes on to state that ‘people have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people…’ (The Guardian, 2010).


This study attempts to the Web 2.0 Social Networking Sites for Collaborative Sharing Research Information by the Social Science Research Scholars at Alagappa University, Karaikudi. A sample size 97 Scholars was selected by random sampling method. The data required for the study were collected through a questionnaire. The findings of the study: 30.9% of the respondents using Facebook/ WhatsApp along with most highly used in the popular web browser used for Google chrome 72.2% Google chrome. 48.5% of respondents’ preference of “Very Strongly Agree” Collaborate with Research projects and Teams. Whereas 46.4% “Research Collaboration “Strongly agree” of the respondents respectively. 30.9% purpose of Web 2.0 for Collaborations of Research Communication while 19.6% Opportunities and Learning for Web 2.0 tools support social interaction in the learning process of the respondents respectively.


Author(s):  
Sudhanshu Joshi

The chapter provides a snapshot on the use of social networking in academic libraries through a systematic review of the available literature and an examination of the libraries’ presence on the most popular social networking sites. The chapter initially reviews 819 articles of empirical research, viewpoints, and case studies, based on keyword(s) search “Web 2.0 + Academic Libraries” since 2006 found in the Library Literature and Information Full Text Database. Out of full text research papers, articles with empirical studies, 328 (40% of 819), are shortlisted; all articles are from journals having impact factors (as per ISI Thomson Reuters rating 2011-12), 0.8 and above. The articles are collected from four major management and library science publishers: Ebscohost, Science Direct, Taylor and Francis, Emerald Insight (including EarlyCite articles, Backfiles content). The potential limitation of the study is that it does not attempt to trace out trends using any regression techniques. The extension of this study could be statistically testing the figures observed in this chapter and laying down a grounded theory approach for future research in Web 2.0 applications in libraries. The important finding is that the popularity of the various social networking sites can change quickly on the basis of e-World of Month (e-WoM).


Author(s):  
Sue Conger

Social networking sites, enabled by Web 2.0 technologies and embodied in role-playing virtual worlds, are gaining in popularity and use both for recreational and business purposes. Behavioral controls can be regulated through program code restrictions, rules of conduct, and local norms. Most vendor hosts of virtual worlds use code restrictions sparingly, restricting only overtly illegal activities. Otherwise, all worlds publish some form of rules of conduct and rely on the development of in-world local norms to regulate behavior. As a result, many unethical forms of behavior have arisen, including griefing, fragging, and industrial espionage. There is no sure method of solving the unethical forms of behavior unless strong social norms develop; therefore, users must take precautions when acting in virtual worlds to understand how to avoid or deflect virtual attacks of different types.


2010 ◽  
pp. 248-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Sandy Staples

This chapter describes one of the Web 2.0 technologies, Social Networking Sites (SNS). A definition of SNS is offered, as is a short history of these sites. The existing research is reviewed and organized to summarize what we know about SNS usage (from the perspectives of student use, general population use and organizational use), and what we know about the antecedents and outcomes of SNS use. The chapter concludes with discussion of new developments, challenges and opportunities. There are many opportunities for future research and organizational applications of SNS as SNS adoption grows at incredible rates.


Author(s):  
Jibitesh Mishra ◽  
Kabita Rani Naik

Web 2.0 is a new generation of web applications where the users are able to participate, collaborate and share the created artefacts. Web 2.0 is all about the collective intelligence. Web 2.0 applications are widely used for all the educational, professional, business and entertainment purposes. But a methodology for quantitative evaluation of web2.0 application quality is still not available. With the advancement of web technology various dimensions to evaluate web2.0 application quality is changing. So studies will be made to select a quality model that is required for web 2.0 application. Then the quantitative analysis will be done on the basis of questionnaire method and statistical formula. Quantitative analysis is necessary to know the weakness and strength of a website and then to improve the web quality. Quantitative evaluation can also be used for comparing two or more websites. In this study, quantitative analysis is done for each quality attribute of two social networking sites. Then the two sites are compared on the basis of the quantitative value of quality.


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