When asked to compare or summarize two articles as part of this week’s task, I chose Messenger in the Barn: Networking in a Learning Environment by Malcolm Rutter and Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship by Boyd and Ellison.
I decided to stick with a fairly basic summarization style as I found very little to compare between these two articles. I found them to be very different in style, methodology and to be honest, in level of enjoyment.
I apologize for my lack of brevity if someone is actually reading these. I simply found it useful to summarize each section as I went.
Messenger in the Barn
This article looks at the use of MSN Messenger by students in a Scottish university. The ‘Barn’ refers to a large library-like facility containing 500 computers divided into pods of twelve.
The first section involving 'Interaction with People", focuses on the results of several studies asking them about the effect the internet has had on their work and professional lives. It is interesting to note that many people seem to feel guilt due to the fact that they are somewhat addicted to life online.
In the methodology section they speak of gathering a cross section of people including students, staff and computer personnel. After questioning these people about the topic, an official questionnaire was developed and then implemented.
The article then goes on to explain some of the findings, dividing the results into the three sections mentioned above. Some of these findings include:
Students:
- Students voiced a fear of addiction and lost time
- Most students were studying away from home and were using the application to
connect with 'back home'
-Students spoke of the facility’s sheer size and would use the application to simply
locate someone
Teachers:
- Teachers had various ways of using and booking this facility
- Teachers’ estimates varied on percentage of time used and/or wasted on
Messenger
- There were also anecdotes on Messenger being used for cheating during tests
Computing Facility Staff:
- The manager had not authorized the installation of Messenger so students were
installing it on their own.
- She stated that locking it out would make it difficult to download other 'legitimate'
programs to operate
Some other interesting findings included:
- 34% reported that they used Messenger regularly to keep in touch with their
family
- 75% had used Messenger to ask friends for help
- 85% disabled Messenger when they needed to concentrate
In the end, the author concludes that students were most successful if they either did not use the program, or if they immersed themselves in it and used it to their advantage. He also notes however, that the sample size made the results rather inconclusive and in retrospect recommended a larger sample size.
Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship
This article describes and defines Social network sites (SNS’s). They begin by looking at the history and development of these sites then add their opinions on possible future research areas.
The article begins by stating that there are hundreds of different SNS’s and that, though their features are often similar, the cultures that emerge are quite varied. This article focuses on the results of several other articles looking at a spectrum of social networking sites.
They then move on to define social network sites as,
“web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site.”
They are careful to distinguish between the terms ‘network’ and ‘networking’ as these sites are not generally associated with ‘networking’ as we know it. Most people are not getting to know new people as much as getting to know people they know better.
The concepts of profile creation, ‘friends’ (which differs from site to site), and messaging are then identified as the three main similarities between these types of sites. It is other features as well as user base that they say can vary greatly.
I will not attempt to summarize their ‘History’ section other than to say that the first recognizable social network, Sixdegrees.com., launched in 1997 promoting, “itself as a tool to help people connect with and send messages to others. A number of sites/companies attempted to gain popularity in a variety of different ways, until in 1997 when Myspace began its rapid growth due in part to disgruntled users of Friendster. In 2005, after initially having a restricted base of college students, facebook opened up to ‘everyone’.
The next portion of this article breaks down some of the research done on this topic into four sections. I will summarize the main points of each in point form.
Impression Management and Friendship Performance
- Donath and boyd (2004) suggested that "public displays of connection" serve as important identity signals that help people navigate the networked social world.
- “While most sites encourage users to construct accurate representations of themselves, participants do
this to varying degrees.”
Networks and Network Structure
- These sites allow for a rich source of information for bahaviouralists.
- The concepts of friendship and motivation to join these networks are of great
interest to researchers.
Bridging Online and Offline Social Networks
- Most research points to the fact that SNS’s simply support existing relationships versus creating new ones.
- Other research shows a common tendency to integrate these networks heavily into our daily lives.
Privacy
- One study found a disconnect between students’ desire to protect their privacy and their actions.
- Survey data suggested that teens were more aware of privacy issues than the public media may give them
credit for.
In the area of ‘Future Research’ the authors state that there are, “vast, uncharted waters still remain to be explored.” In their opinion the overall understanding of, ‘who is and who is not using these sites, why, and for what purposes,” is still quite limited.
I was a bit frustrated after reading the first article Messenger in the Barn. After reading his conclusion that he needed a bigger sample I was left wondering, “Then why did I read this?”
The article on Social Networking, however, was much more informative and professional. I enjoyed that it served as a collection of other research that had been done on the topic.
I decided to stick with a fairly basic summarization style as I found very little to compare between these two articles. I found them to be very different in style, methodology and to be honest, in level of enjoyment.
I apologize for my lack of brevity if someone is actually reading these. I simply found it useful to summarize each section as I went.
Messenger in the Barn
This article looks at the use of MSN Messenger by students in a Scottish university. The ‘Barn’ refers to a large library-like facility containing 500 computers divided into pods of twelve.
The first section involving 'Interaction with People", focuses on the results of several studies asking them about the effect the internet has had on their work and professional lives. It is interesting to note that many people seem to feel guilt due to the fact that they are somewhat addicted to life online.
In the methodology section they speak of gathering a cross section of people including students, staff and computer personnel. After questioning these people about the topic, an official questionnaire was developed and then implemented.
The article then goes on to explain some of the findings, dividing the results into the three sections mentioned above. Some of these findings include:
Students:
- Students voiced a fear of addiction and lost time
- Most students were studying away from home and were using the application to
connect with 'back home'
-Students spoke of the facility’s sheer size and would use the application to simply
locate someone
Teachers:
- Teachers had various ways of using and booking this facility
- Teachers’ estimates varied on percentage of time used and/or wasted on
Messenger
- There were also anecdotes on Messenger being used for cheating during tests
Computing Facility Staff:
- The manager had not authorized the installation of Messenger so students were
installing it on their own.
- She stated that locking it out would make it difficult to download other 'legitimate'
programs to operate
Some other interesting findings included:
- 34% reported that they used Messenger regularly to keep in touch with their
family
- 75% had used Messenger to ask friends for help
- 85% disabled Messenger when they needed to concentrate
In the end, the author concludes that students were most successful if they either did not use the program, or if they immersed themselves in it and used it to their advantage. He also notes however, that the sample size made the results rather inconclusive and in retrospect recommended a larger sample size.
Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship
This article describes and defines Social network sites (SNS’s). They begin by looking at the history and development of these sites then add their opinions on possible future research areas.
The article begins by stating that there are hundreds of different SNS’s and that, though their features are often similar, the cultures that emerge are quite varied. This article focuses on the results of several other articles looking at a spectrum of social networking sites.
They then move on to define social network sites as,
“web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site.”
They are careful to distinguish between the terms ‘network’ and ‘networking’ as these sites are not generally associated with ‘networking’ as we know it. Most people are not getting to know new people as much as getting to know people they know better.
The concepts of profile creation, ‘friends’ (which differs from site to site), and messaging are then identified as the three main similarities between these types of sites. It is other features as well as user base that they say can vary greatly.
I will not attempt to summarize their ‘History’ section other than to say that the first recognizable social network, Sixdegrees.com., launched in 1997 promoting, “itself as a tool to help people connect with and send messages to others. A number of sites/companies attempted to gain popularity in a variety of different ways, until in 1997 when Myspace began its rapid growth due in part to disgruntled users of Friendster. In 2005, after initially having a restricted base of college students, facebook opened up to ‘everyone’.
The next portion of this article breaks down some of the research done on this topic into four sections. I will summarize the main points of each in point form.
Impression Management and Friendship Performance
- Donath and boyd (2004) suggested that "public displays of connection" serve as important identity signals that help people navigate the networked social world.
- “While most sites encourage users to construct accurate representations of themselves, participants do
this to varying degrees.”
Networks and Network Structure
- These sites allow for a rich source of information for bahaviouralists.
- The concepts of friendship and motivation to join these networks are of great
interest to researchers.
Bridging Online and Offline Social Networks
- Most research points to the fact that SNS’s simply support existing relationships versus creating new ones.
- Other research shows a common tendency to integrate these networks heavily into our daily lives.
Privacy
- One study found a disconnect between students’ desire to protect their privacy and their actions.
- Survey data suggested that teens were more aware of privacy issues than the public media may give them
credit for.
In the area of ‘Future Research’ the authors state that there are, “vast, uncharted waters still remain to be explored.” In their opinion the overall understanding of, ‘who is and who is not using these sites, why, and for what purposes,” is still quite limited.
I was a bit frustrated after reading the first article Messenger in the Barn. After reading his conclusion that he needed a bigger sample I was left wondering, “Then why did I read this?”
The article on Social Networking, however, was much more informative and professional. I enjoyed that it served as a collection of other research that had been done on the topic.