Info1010 presentation

Digital Present - Digital Futures: Social Computing and Web 2.0 (23)

“We've got to get back to the future, Marty.”

Slot 6 Tutor: Dr Adam Prugel-Bennett (APB)

Tom Russell, Eyo Ndem, Chris Saunders and Joe Saunders

Social Computing is Changing the World

'Superpoke' – a facebook application which adds functionality to the traditional poke feature by

allowing users to smile, wink, smack and slap (as well as throw virtual sheep) at their friends.

Is this supposed to be the future of computing?

Prblog.typepad.com

Social Computing is Changing the World

We all know about Youtube, Twitter, Facebook...but can these sites really change the world? The 'It Gets Better' initiative certainly made a difference to people's lives and was based almost entirely around social computing but that doesn't necessarily make social computing and web 2.0 the future, however useful a tool these sites may be.

Social Computing is Changing the World

And there are plenty of other applications being developed that really can make a difference to our lives.

'Zimride' is powered by Google Maps combined with a social network and a “ride-matching algorithm”. It's a carpool scheme which, according to the company, has enabled 300,000 worldwide users to carpool with people that they otherwise would never have met.

An environmentally friendly, world changing use of social computing, what could be better?

Social Computing is Changing the World

The world's most powerful country (sometimes) is run by a man who owes his presidential position – at least in part – to social computing.

The Obama '08 iPhone app featured an organised and prioritised list of contacts in key states during the election, designed to allow campaigners to make an impact quickly and effectively on arrival.

Web 2.0 is Changing the WorldAnd Web 2.0 is helping too!

CompuMentor is an organisation that aims to help other non-profit organisations adopt computers into their own specific practices. A website, NetSquared.org, was launched by the company and equipped with as much Web 2.0 technology as possible: blogs, online communities, RSS feeds etc.

CompuMentor began almost 20 years ago, and now via it's more recent auxiliary company TechSoup, claims to have distributed cheap computer material (both hardware and software) to more than 50,000 non-profit companies, reportedly saving the sector $400 million (around £260 million)

“Information technology is moving away from what non-profits have the least of – money – and toward what we have the most of – people and community.”

NetSquared founder Daniel Ben-Horin

...Or are they?

These are clearly excellent uses of the online technology now available to people, companies and charities.

But thus far we have seen nothing to suggest that social computing and web 2.0 are anything more than useful tools.

For these tools to really be the future of the web requires a degree of expandability. The technologies behind them must be sound, robust structures that can be utilised in myriad ways if social web is truly to be called “the Future”.

Rich Internet Application RIA

This is a web application which gives the user features and functions normally associated with desktop applications.

This includes visually engaging websites such as:http://www.philips.co.uk/

Components of RIA

The most common languages used for RIAs include:

Flash

JavaFX

Microsoft Silverlight

RIAs are visually engaging, interactive and appeal to our sense of beauty

Components cont.

An advantage of RIAs is that it splits the processing across the internet by locating the user interface on the client side, and by using data manipulation on the application server side.

This improves the speed of the applications and gives the user more control over the application

Riastats.com