The next generation social networks -2-

Add comment November 25th, 2006 Robert Bosman

The next generation social networks will empower
all players to connect, to exchange and to co-create in all of their roles.

The red lines represent the next next web or Web 4.0 (’the next generation social networks’, ‘Web 4.0′ and ‘the next web’ or ‘the next next web’ are supposed to be synonyms). First of all the red lines symbolize the full connectivity of all players. The power of connecting people is no longer restricted to one web portal at a time. In contrary, the generic Service Oriented Architecture of Participation (SOA-P) of Web 4.0, will empower all players with one (!) simple log in (called federated log in), to connect, to exchange and to co-create in all of their roles, instantly. Moreover, both individuals and organizations, will be able to aggregate all the information from all of their personal and corporate accounts.

For example, when a company decides to add ‘Mr. Bean’ to one of it’s projects, his colleagues in that project are added to his personal network, instantly. His contacts from other accounts, Linkedin for example, are added in the same way. Of course he can add other personal relations. Moreover, he can change the characteristics of a specific relation, in order to organise it in the way he experiences that relation. For example, one of his new colleagues in the project mentioned above, can also be a good friend; so, this person should be visible both in the personal as in the corporate selection of his personal network. On the other hand, all organizations in Mr. Bean’s network will see any change in his personal data, i.e. a new address of phone number, instantly.

That ‘instantly’ exchange of data between all partners in a social network, is what we call the Data Tango; it is a close and almost effortless movement, in which each ‘dancing partner’ is passionate about his or her role in the whole process. In this process they will not only exchange relationship data, but will, enabled by established relations, also aggregate all other kinds of data from different web portals, like Appointments, ToDo’s, Meetings, Agenda’s, Minutes, Files, Products bought, Links, Podcasts, etc etc.

As soon as this combination of federated log in and full relationship based data aggregation will exist, web user will embrace it, leaving all web portals that don’t offer such a service with a tremendous decrease in their user population.

One other notable point form the graphic above, is that Governments are mentioned separately, and that has a reason. In one way Governments are just organizations, and everything said before is fully applicable to them. But Governments also have the power to create a legal infrastructure and moreover, are crucial in the process of creation and verification of identity, both for citizens as well as all kinds of legal entities. For the future of our society and even our planet, it will be crucial that Governments and Organizations establish and maintain standards for Identity and Relations; without those standards all information will be more or less isolated on millions of data-islands… And especially criminals and terrorists love those islands: it makes hiding so much easier…

The above illustrates, that the two most important things in all kinds of data exchange and data aggregation are: Identity and Relation.
So, the next generation social networks will be all about Identity and Relation, both personal as well as corporate, as a basis for multidimensional data-aggregation. The only thing we need is a new standard, a Universal Relation Manager - URM®.

Technorati Tags: web accounts, web ID, identity, relation, digid, federated login, verification, web 2.0, URM, data aggregation, social networks, co-creation, society, practosophy

The next generation social networks -1-

Add comment November 22nd, 2006 Robert Bosman

What is the main frustration of the active web 2.0 users? All those different accounts! And all those different login names and passwords! But even more: the impossibility to aggregate the data you need, both personal and organizational.

It is almost 2007. Never ever was technology so powerful. But the common user can’t even process the list with names and addresses for his Christmas Cards! (see also the weblog of Microsoft’s Ray Ozzie). How is that possible?

The answer is simple: almost all software uses the architecture of the past, the architecture of limited memory, limited connections, limited speed. The data islands, we had to create in the past because of this limitations, are still our “mental” models today. And that has to change. That will change. It is even changing rapidly at the moment.

All what people create, starts in the mind of - most of the times - one person (see also Vision & Action). But don’t think that is, because he or see is so brilliant. It is just because it is time for that idea! And when it is time, live itself will create a ‘point of entry’, a tiny little beginning for such an idea. And then, live will create an audience, people who did not generate the idea, but instantly recognize it. And whenever that happens, the sky is literally the limit! And the original idea will change because of the aggregated ‘wisdom of people’, so much, that the ‘original thinker’ sometimes does not even recognize his idea any longer…
That is what happened also to the web. In a series of weblog entries with the title ‘The next generation social networks’, we will look after this development more in detail. I agree, we were not that active in writing blog entries over the last weeks, but that had it’s reasons. We were busy co-creating the future of the web… Exciting discussions with ‘captains of the industry of the future’, in which we shared ideas. And we will share the most interesting ideas with you.

First of all, let’s one more time look at the ‘big picture’.

The first phase of the web was al about websites and email. In 1996 - 10 years ago - the then new XML standard opened new horizons; in 2000 Microsoft even changed it’s whole corporate strategy and made XML and web portals one of the most significant building stones for it’s future. Whenever we log in and for example book a hotel or airplane, we use XML.

And about 2 years ago, someone (Tim O’Reilly) spoke a new word: Web 2.0, often explained as the web of social networks. As you may know form earlier blog posts, we prefer the name web 3.0 for it. In essence the social networks of today are nothing more than very special XML-based web portals. The modern social networks allow their users to find each other. But only one network at a time and with searches as far as that particular network allows.

In other words: the present generation social networks does not allow any form of data aggregation from different web accounts. And that will change in the next generation social networks. And more. But that’s for the next blog posts…

Technorati Tags: web accounts, web frustration, web 2.0, URM, data aggregation, social networks, co-creation, society, practosophy