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facebook.com
What are your online friends really worth to you? |
In a
Dec. 3 Guardian article, new media guru
Jeff Jarvis assembled some interesting (and in my opinion, encouraging) thoughts about the value social networking has on friendships -- as well as how it can be a catalyst for a more tolerant society. (Here's a link to the much longer
original post from Jarvis' site Buzzmachine.com.)
I think many of these ideas extend to include the increasing prominence of networked journalism (my new favorite term for describing the interaction that takes place between users and journalism). The tangibility of the relationships in online networks have created a more permanent record of a larger scope of peoples' lives. This is a huge resource that news organizations never have had before.
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His thoughts on the importance the open nature of online communities are really pivotal to keep in mind when developing successful user networks. I love this quote from Jarvis:
"Young people have a different view of privacy and publicness because they realize you can't make connections with people unless you reveal something of yourself: you won't find fellow skiers unless you tell the world that you, too, ski. Privacy advocates would be appalled that I have revealed my most private information on my blog: my health data. But by writing about the heart condition I share with Tony Blair, fibrillation, I have found advice and support from others. Publicness has its benefits."
He also points out how Facebook has refined the use of publicness in online communities (depending on the honesty of users) by requiring users to share their real identities and allowing them to control it.
Jarvis' idea of "mutually assured humiliation" stems from the openness of these communities, but also creates a sense of empathy that he anticipates will create the golden rule of the social Internet: "We will have to forgive others' (for their online past) if we want them to ignore ours."
And one cool fact he points out: With the value of Facebook at an estimated $15 billion value, Jarvis points out that each Facebook friendship has a $300 lifetime worth.
NOTE: I found this article on my iGoogle page where I have a collection of feeds from online news blogs like Jarvis' site. If you'd like to add my tab to your iGoogle page, use this link.
Guest contributor Ellyn Angelotti is Interactivity Editor/Adjunct faculty for Poynter Online.
