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It's Time for Social Networks to Open Up

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the heard-that-before dept.

edmicman notes that "Wired has an article, "Slap in the Facebook: It's Time for Social Networks to Open Up", that calls for the greater programming community to create a truly "open" social network. Specifically, the problems with today's networks, says the author, is that their content is not available to everyone."

3 of 231 comments (clear)

  1. Just because it is "open" ... by catbutt · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    ...as in non-proprietary, does not mean that there are no access controls whatsoever.

    Of course any reasonable open implementation would allow you to make certain things visible only to certain people.

  2. Mod parent up! by Valdrax · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    I mean, it's college, the point is to meet new people. But now my profile is locked down tighter than NORAD, because I have to worry that some zombie in HR is going to freak out that I had a beer once.

    I was out of college by the time MySpace and Facebook got popular (so I still don't really *get* them), but I *have* seen employers do this. I saw a girl lose a position because someone found images of her posing topless with her sorority. Apparently the pic was pretty well known on Facebook. She almost certainly never knew why she got passed over, but having someone on the inside killed her job prospects.

    The whole point of Facebook is that it's a "walled garden." "Walled gardens" are walled so that they are safe and trusted places. Sites like Facebook are no different. Not everybody is into full 100% exhibitionism, but many do want to have a place to advertise their lives to people they trust a little.

    --
    If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
  3. Social discrimination by arth1 · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    WTF? Part of the appeal of many of these sites is that it is restricted in some manner that that current users enjoy.

    The same can be said about the Ku Klux Klan too, you know. Just because it makes the members feel "special" doesn't imply that it's good.

    And anything that's exclusive that way will also lock out those who need socializing the most -- those who are lonely or picky about their friends, and have no one to recommend them. Not everyone has a large social network, and this is particularly true for the smartest among us, who spend most of their time alone, researching or thinking. Think back to high school -- the jocks and dolls were the social ones, while the geeks missed parties because they were never invited. Is encouraging this behaviour really a good thing?

    Remember that there are lots of good people out there that never received even a G-Mail invitation. And who would find it humiliating to ask for one. And I'd value most of them much higher than the social butterflies. Cause they include some of the greatest minds out there.