Someone Else Agrees: SNS Is Broken
Yesterday I discussed several of the issues surrounding the continued branching and chaining of SNS systems. Stuart HenshalI (Source: Many-to-Many) provides a frank and succinct look in the hands-on user experience and frustrations with the current crop of SNS 1.0 application. At best, it seems like it's all wrong and will require some serious overhauls to make things not only right but usable. I'm glad that I was not the only one that hasn't sipped the Kool Aid at this party.
In many ways, I read his comments and come away feeling like SNS has given us a shiny new set of rollerskates while strapping a sack of potatoes to our backs and positioning us at the top of Everest. The overload is tremendous, new problems are surfacing, and little can be done to prevent our eventual collision with the floor.
Stuart asks:
When is IM not a social networking device? (Have you ever seen a 12 year old girl reconnect her buddies after taking a new name?) That looks like social networking to me. When are introductions by e-mail not social networking. Or a speakerphone call? It's time to put a stop to categorizing these "things" as social networks. Call them "Associative Networking Tools" or "Structured Association Tools" or something similar. Then you can create a bucket for them. The reason there is no real business model is they are just part of / or component towards building our capabilities to enhance "presence" and connectivity. Most of the friends I network with in this realm also have IM. But step outside and look at the real world and usage is sporadic at best. If we can't get our friends to adopt one of three messaging systems how can we hope to get them to adopt one of one hundred social networking services? Via Dina this comment from Jenny Levine sums it up.
[...]
What have we learned.
- We don't socialize rather only associate through the Orkuts while we socialize using messaging, telephone and face to face visits.
- The opportunity to connecting through friends is much greater than generally understoood. Some successes have been achieved.
- Virtual connections mean managing ones connections and presence has never been more important.
- Structured services are creating problems where there were none before. From categories to access. And designating "artificial" forced levels of buddies or friendship.
- Fragmenting association systems does not enable better connections.
- Integration on to my desktop (address book / IM systems) at minimum and preferably into my cellphone is required for there are few you can synch with and while one can upload addresses you can seldom download.
- The sites themselves are seldom responsible for the association, the connective knowledge is broader than the networking sites. eg blogs, blogrolls, online forums etc.
Bravo! Presence will provide the ubiquity that SNS requires to not only justify their existence but also to create leverage for their users.