The Social Graph is Neither
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The Social Graph is Neither
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Re: The Social Graph is Neither
#2rdf technology is coming on strong in late 2011; the tools are getting better fast -- we will be able to represent the social graph in more detail, and correlate it with the 'semantic graph' that shared human experience is coded in.
yes, RDF has taken a while to mature, but look at the time lag between Codd's paper and the commercial release of Oracle. 1000 flowers have been blooming for years and we know a lot about what works and what doesn't.
the trouble with foaf and other 'distributed social graph' is that muggles like Facebook the way it is... they don't care about data portability or privacy; unless a distributed system can provide a better user experience, it's got no hope.
Re: The Social Graph is Neither
#3rdf technology is coming on strong in late 2011; the tools are getting better fast -- we will be able to represent the social graph in more detail, and correlate it with the 'semantic graph' that shared human experience is coded in. yes, RDF has taken a while to mature, but look at the time lag between Codd's paper and the commercial release of Oracle. 1000 flowers have been blooming for years and we know a lot about…
I believe Maciej is saying that it's not just an issue with RDF or a technical problem really. He says: "Personally, I think finding an adequate data model for the totality of interpersonal connections is an AI-hard problem. But even if you disagree, it's clear that a plain old graph is not going to cut it."
Re: The Social Graph is Neither
#4> Asking computer nerds to design social software is a little bit like hiring a Mormon bartender.
exactly.
Re: The Social Graph is Neither
#5rdf technology is coming on strong in late 2011; the tools are getting better fast -- we will be able to represent the social graph in more detail, and correlate it with the 'semantic graph' that shared human experience is coded in. yes, RDF has taken a while to mature, but look at the time lag between Codd's paper and the commercial release of Oracle. 1000 flowers have been blooming for years and we know a lot about…
I believe Maciej is saying that it's not just an issue with RDF or a technical problem really. He says: "Personally, I think finding an adequate data model for the totality of interpersonal connections is an AI-hard problem. But even if you disagree, it's clear that a plain old graph is not going to cut it."
That depends on your definition of a "plain old graph". If you allow arbitrary numbers of edges between nodes and allow edges to carry data, everything will be ok, right? (...right?)
Re: The Social Graph is Neither
#6I agree that the graph is an incorrect representation. Because people don't think that way. But that doesn't mean organic, activity/interest based communities are the only ones possible, or even desirable.
I want a way to be able to communicate with all of my different offline groups without having to be in their physical presence. I also want this on a broad spectrum of public-private.
I think adequately (not perfectly) modelling social context is a solvable problem. It's a matter of UI and metaphor. Here's my take on it: http://blog.byjoemoon.com/post/7072771434/a-new-metaphor-for...
Re: The Social Graph is Neither
#7Social networks aren't really social networks either. If you read Bowling Alone, it should be readily apparent that Facebook et al. fulfill few of the functions of an actual social network.
Re: The Social Graph is Neither
#8> Asking computer nerds to design social software is a little bit like hiring a Mormon bartender. exactly.
This is bullshit.
"Computer nerds" have plenty of friends. I know factory workers that have very high depression levels due to not having enough social contact or friendship in their lives. Sure, when I was 9 I was beat the fuck up over and over but when you are friendly, smart and successful people like you. They want to be your friend. Let's play devils advocate for a second. Take the most popular person in high school and get him to design social software. It would suck. Bad.
Re: The Social Graph is Neither
#9> Asking computer nerds to design social software is a little bit like hiring a Mormon bartender. exactly.
I did like that sentence, but I can't help but think it's wrong. The author of this article is probably as much of a "computer nerd" as any person at Facebook/wherever, but they can identify all sorts of problems with the "social graph", so the problem isn't nerdiness. The problem, as the author also points out, is that real life is very complex, and you can get an 80% solution by dramatically simplifying it.
Besides, I suspect there are plenty of nerds who understand social relationships in theory very well (there's plenty of literature out there for those willing to read). Not to mention that, apparently, not all tech people are completely socially awkward.
Re: The Social Graph is Neither
#10This is a superb post. Social networks, starting especially from the era of the Facebook era, have foisted increasing amounts of doublethink on their users, and it's often difficult to make people realize this and explain the reasons for it being that way. This essay not only lays out good examples of that nagging cognitive dissonance, but then goes on to explain its necessity at both the technical and business levels.