Setting Structure for Social Comfort

Thomas Vander Wal 21 February 2015

World IA Day 2015 :: Washington, DC

Who is Thomas?

Non-digital

Commonwealth Club of California

Understanding Social Software for

Mainstream Adoption

“I don’t want to be the company idiot!”

Look to human social interactions

Social Scripts

Rethink how tools map to human needs

What is Trust?

Too many components to trust

Stop using the term trust

Encourage the use of words that describe trust

Comfort

Dependable Valued

Honest

Consistent

BelievableLoved

Treasured

Etcetera...

Respect

Social Comfort

3 Parts of Social Comfort

• People

• Tools

• Content

Social Comfort with People

Elements of Social Software

Identity Object

Presence

Collaboration

Actions

Groups

Sharing

ReputationRelationships

Conversation

Build Order

Identity Object

Presence

Actions

Sharing

Reputation

Relationship

Conversation

Groups

Collaboration

Build Order

Identity Object

Presence

Actions

Sharing

Reputation

Relationship

Conversation

Groups

Collaboration

Traditional Groupware

Who Are These People?

Paradox of Familiarity

• Familiarity through working together

• Familiarity through reputation

• Hallway familiarity

• Online familiarity

Building Comfort with People

• Similar interest

• Similar life stories

• Similar experiences

• People in common

Consumating’s “Quirkiness Factor”

Some Caution Needed

While finding a common bond that is private or rare occurrence between people can lead to really strong bonds, often people don’t want this public.

•Beware of privacy •Let people set what is shared •Allow for progressive disclosure

•Allow for an “ask”

•Some sensitive areas: - Health - Relationship status - Personal matters - Mental health - Finances

•Set 3 category types for sharing - Openly shared - Share if connected and there is a match

- Ask to share

Structure Share Categories

Transparency

Profiles

Build profiles from the viewers perspective

• Breadth of social possible connections

• Contextual disclosure

- Things in common between people

- Relevance of semi-private disclosure

What are things that would erode comfort?

Social Comfort with Tools

Walled Gardens vs. Open Sharing

Sharepoint default

Lack of comfort with open sharing

Comfortable spaces with permeable walls

Social Reticence of a Click

“How broadly are my activities shared”

“What do others think ‘this’ means”

What do the features and functions of the tools/

service do?

When we...

Item

Hold On

Interest

Approve

Kudos

7 Intents for Favorites1. Favorite to see what you like over time 2. Favorite to share with others 3. Favorite to show you approve of something (as in

signing off with approval) or like 4. Use as a bookmark to come back to an item later

(No like nor dislike implied) 5. Give kudos to the creator of the item 6. Use as a hook to trigger other service actions 7. To acknowledge it has been seen, often implied as a

an end of a conversation

Social Progressions

• Personal

• Ideas shared (sparks)

• Gathering of others with interests (campfire)

• Broader interest gathering (bonfire)

• Honing for broad use and replications (torch)

Spark

Campfire

Bonfire

Torch

Social Comfort with Content

100% of content that is potentially sharable

Content Sharing Paradox

The goal is to share 100% of what one knows

This often takes sharing with those one is most comfortable with first

When people need to find “others like me”

This is often the trigger eroding fears that brings social comfort

The more personal the issue, the more difficult it is to attain social comfort

Externally Focussed Social Empathy

• Sharing may hurt others

• Not wanting to “rock the boat”

• Whistle blowing concerns

Social Comfort as a Whole

Thank You!

Credit of Other’s Photos

• Commonwealth Club, by Steve Rhodes photo of Lowell Bergman - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ari/389255633/sizes/l/

E-mail: thomas@vanderwal.net Skype: tjvanderwal Twitter: @vanderwal & @infocloud Blog: http://personalinfocloud.com Site: http://vanderwal.net