What is social software?

Social software is a term used widely in the current media and educational climate.  But when we use the term 'social software', what are we actually talking about?  We use the term, but do we actually understand what it means?

The term social software has been around since 2002 (McLoughlin & Lee, 2007), and seems to be used most commonly with the term Web 2.0.  In fact understanding the meaning of the one supports understanding of the other, as one does not seem to exist without the other.  I will attempt to define Web 2.0 and social software in terms of how they relate and co-exist.

Web 2.0 can be traced back to the time of the dot.com crash in 2001, when O'Reilly Media and MediaLive International noted the common characteristics of those companies and start-ups that were weathering the dot.com storm  (O'Reilly, 2005).  They identified Web 2.0 as the second generation of the Web, in which web use and tool creation has focused more specifically on collaboration and communication.  It emphasises interaction, involvement, collaboration and sharing of ideas and knowledge amongst internet users.  Some well known Web 2.0 applications include:

• blogs
• wikis
• RSS (Really Simple Syndication)
• podcasting
• social network sites
• media sharing sites

Social software can be defined as 'software that supports group interaction' (Shirky, 2003), and appears to be a fairly new term that has come about with the rise of social interaction and collaboration on the Web 2.0.  McLoughlin and Lee argue that the Internet has always had elements of social group interaction (email, discussion boards and chat rooms), but that Web 2.0 has afforded the introduction of social softwares that not only encourage social interaction, feedback, conversation and networking, but "are also endowed with a flexibility and modularity that enables collaborative remixability – a transformative process in which the information and media organised and shared by individuals can be recombined and built on to create new forms, concepts, ideas, mashups and services."  (McLoughlin & Lee, 2007). 

Some examples of social software:

• Wikipedia
• Facebook / Myspace
• Flickr - image sharing
• YouTube
• Blogger / Edublog
• Evernote
• de.lic.ious
• Second Life / Meez

A perfect demonstration of 'collaborative remixability' is Wikipedia, a site many of us know.  A quick search of the Wikipedia site uncovers the workings of the site in which an online, collaborative encyclopedia is written by volunteers who are not paid.  Anyone with Internet access is able to write articles and edit those written by others, meaning that the encyclopedia is constantly updated and changed by its users (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About). 

Wikipedia doesn't follow the same rules as printed reference material.  Anyone can contribute, and while policies and guidelines have been created by Wikipedia users based on the 'Five Pillars', contributors are not required to read or understand them before they add to the site.  Wikipedia is collaborative effort that relies upon the honesty and integrity of its authors, but in no way is able to asure users of it's accuracy or truth. 

In reality, as a user of Wikipedia, we are agreeing to the principles of it's creation and must acknowledge the importance of verification and rigor in our own learning and research.  We can not and should not assume that everything that we read is true and this is something we need to teach children from a relatively early age.  As users of social software, we must be aware and receptive interactors within these technological environments.

While social software has many great potential uses within education, it also brings with it key issues of social and personal responsibility when operating in online environments. In future weeks I hope to examine many of the issues surrounding learning in an online environment, as well as discussing the role of blended learning in modern classrooms.  I look forward to my next post.


References:

ICT: Providing choices for learners and learning. Proceedings ascilite Singapore 2007: O'Reilly, T. (2005) 'What is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software', O'Reilly Media: Spreading the Knowledge of Technology Innovators, http://oreilly.com/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html.

McLoughlin, C. & Lee, M. J. W. (2007). Social software and participatory learning: Pedagogical choices with technology affordances in the Web 2.0 era. In
http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/singapore07/procs/mcloughlin.pdf.

Shirky, C. (2003) ‘A group is its own worst enemy: Social structure in social software’, Paper presented at the O'Reilly Emerging Technology conference, Santa Clara, CA, April 24, 2003: http://www.shirky.com/writings/group_enemy.html.