tom.ternquist – a place for my things.

In an age when being connected 24/7 to the world, through Facebook, Twitter, AIM, and countless other services, has become the norm; the amount of information available about others is huge and sometimes, annoying.

Social networking sites like Twitter have exploded in popularity, much due to the “rich get richer effect,” combined with the typical network effects that social media bring. However, one has to think: does more users make for a better experience?

Jumping into a strange new world

To an inexperienced user, Twitter can be confusing. What is “tweetworthy” and what am I getting out of this service are questions that come up often when users first get on Twitter. It’s safe to say that many of these new users only signed up because their tech-savvy friend convinced them or that they heard that their favorite actor or band had a Twitter account.

These users may not know what their place in the Twitter-verse is, and this can have implications that spread throughout the network.

Are followers and friends equivalent?

A service such as Twitter, often leads to social networks that do not necessarily mirror the real world. For example, a user’s Twitter identity might be used to connect to a network of users who share a similar interest. This would make sense since you would want to receive updates about people who have similar interests.

But what if your real-life friends and your associations with them don’t match up to your Twitter identity? I could love to share my knowledge of politics and receive similar updates on Twitter, but not have friends that necessarily enjoy this.

In the consideration of payoffs in the network effect model, one has to consider if having more of your friends on a service necessarily improves your payoff. If your aim is to have a Twitter stream about technology, having your friends update you on their latest haircut or a traffic jam, may not be doing you a service.

The issue of privacy also becomes an interesting point of discussion. When differing social circles clash in Twitter the question over what can be said comfortably comes to the front. For example, if a user has coworkers as followers on Twitter as well as close friends, what level of censorship should be used?

Establishing an Identity

In a recent story by Martha Irvine of the Associated Press, Are you a twit if you don’t want to Twitter?, Irvine details many of the internal and external conflicts that people face when confronted with social networking services. One person interviewed in the story brings up interesting issue:

"Being exposed to details, from someone's painful breakup to what they had for breakfast — and much more sordid details than that — feels like voyeurism," says the 31-year-old public relations executive in Washington, D.C. "I'm less concerned with protecting my privacy, and more concerned at the ethics of a `human zoo' where others' lives, and often serious problems, are treated as entertainment."

If nothing else, it’s clear that online social networks are still defining their place in society. The nature of these networks is dynamic and changing, with its value to users often in flux, regardless of the number of users on the service.