Social Software & Social Order

Social class is one of those dynamite topics along with religion and politics. And it's dynamite because distinctions of power and money lie in the background of our interactions with others yet it is considered inappropriate to talk about them openly - esp. in supposedly democratic societies. Just ask your colleague how much they earn and offer to tell them how much you do (N.B. This latter act is taboo in European or US society but is more common in India) and then bask in the awkward silence*.

Which is what makes this essay on Facebook & MySpace by Danah Boyd so interesting. Also check out this post on Orkut & India by Shobha.

This presents something of a challenge for Webtopians (which is a strawman occasionally inhabited by a real writer). Web 2.0 technologies are supposed to break down existing power structures. We are all supposed to collaborate as equals for the greater good. But people cannot help but take the social structures their bodies grew up in online as well. Our virtual existences are a hybrid of the old and the new. We have already created new social forms but we cannot junk the old ones yet.

To contradict that famous New Yorker cartoon: on the internet, people can know whether you are dog - and even what breed of dog you are.


"Your Facebook Profile is ready, sir."

*Traditional social order is reliant on groups staying silent on their position in the pecking order - historically God was used to sanction why I live in a mansion & you cannot pay the rent. Now genetics, personal effectiveness & free-market economics take the starring role in the theatre of justification.