Topic 9

Q1. Social networking as a business model.

A social network business model is prime ground for advertisers and really any business that intends to employ the crowd mentality for the sake of creativity and diversity. The amount of raw information generated from a social network as a bi-product of simply existing. It is, after all, how a great many of the web 2.0 tools we use today came to be. So why not find a way of harnessing it?

On the flipside however. "We are the angry mob, we read the papers everyday, we like who we like and we hate who we hate but we're also easily swayed." By this I mean, when you take on a social network you take on a group of people. Sometimes large groups of people. They'll love what you're doing until they don't and when that happens the results can be wildly unpredictable. Every time facebook makes an interface change a new group rises up opposing the change. There is also the question of whether social networks should even be considered a business model? True it's a weak question, but the moral and ethical considerations of running a for profit business around the personal information and social interactions of individuals does warrant a mention.

Q2. Government 2.0
Wiki Drafts: These are items set to be processed within the system of government that are open for discussion. It's like making a document an open forum so the majority can have a direct influence over what is happening in their parliament.
Twitter in government: It's a way for politicians to have a direct voice to their constituents. Uncensored information is able to make it from the hands of our government representatives straight to the people.

Do I support government 2.0? I don't know. Call me cautiously optimistic. I think being able to get more interaction and involvement happening between politicians and the people is a good idea but California have demonstrated an ability to over democratise the state to a point where nothing gets done. So yes, I guess I do support it as all things must evolve. I foresee in it an ability to stall government productivity (there's an oxymoron for ya) as well though.