When is an online "friend" *really* a "friend"?
07:26, 14 December 2008
.. Posted in techculture and tech to help.. Link
The fabulous Beth Kanter is much more of a cheerleader for online social networking (OSN) platforms and so-called "Web 2.0" technologies than I am. While I believe very much in their potential, I also believe that most nonprofits are NOT getting the promised returns for the time and investment that participation in such takes. I read Beth's blog faithfully, as she keeps up-to-date on what organizations are using online social networking (OSN) successfully, as well as research regarding such -- there's no better resource for knowing what's working for nonprofits regarding Web 2.0 -- but it's also worth keeping in mind that no one is profiling the organizations who haven't had much return on their investment with such tools, and nonprofits that haven't had much success aren't exactly lining up to tout failures.
In one of her recent blog entries, Beth references HP Labs: Twitter Under the Microscope, a research report that, as Beth notes, points out that "while social networks like Twitter can connect us to lots of people, we can only really develop deeper relationships with a small subset." She notes that this concept is known as the Dunbar number or 150 to be exact. In other words, despite someone having a large number of links in their "network" via an OSN platform, users actually only communicate regularly -- or have real interactions -- with their own smaller subset of real "friends" or close associates.
So glad she helped bring this report to the world's attention! The HP Labs report's findings should come as no surprise to anyone. Remember when the Web first started being embraced by nonprofits, many of whom thought a large number of web visitors would instantly translate into large numbers of donors? The reality proved MUCH different, and it's why I don't take large numbers of "friends" listed on anyone's online profile too seriously. To me, this report confirms everything I say on my web page about the value of social networking to nonprofits and how to evaluate the success of such activities. In other words, use the tools, but don't lose your perspective on what participation and interaction really looks like.
Jayne Cravens
