And I guess what I mean here is the academic study of social networking, including how it works for business, leadership, politics, culture, etc. It has evolved as a field of study outside of those disciplines, but I would be remiss as an instructor if I didn’t point it out as meaningful to the web 2.0 “revolution.” Here’s a good link to get us started talking on it:
http://web2.socialcomputingmagazine.com/the_social_graph_issues_and_strategies_in_2008.htm
“One of the hottest topics in the online world in the last couple of years has been the growth of social networking services such as Facebook and MySpace, as well as the addition of a social element to existing user experiences. Despite riding several waves of hype, it’s now clear that the social networking space will only get hotter in 2008 according to most watchers. Social software has come fully into its own as of 2008 — for all appearances permanently — and understanding the reasons for this rapid rise as well as figuring out how to leverage it best is the job of everyone who wants to make the most of the Web 2.0 era….”
