Possible Speaking opportunity at SocComm/The Social Communications Summit ( http://www.soccomm.com ) will take place in New York from February 10-11.

I have filled out to potential topics for the chance to speak at this upcoming conference put on by Jeff Pulver. I hope I get the chance to present....not because I like to talk. :)

More because I really like where he is going with the conference. I would love to engage in deep discussion with some of the luminaries in the space. Hopefully I pass the cut... I thought it might be fun to post out the potential topics that I threw out there and see if anyone had a preference...what would you like to hear about. (It is ok if these are snoozers for you...:) let me know your HONEST feedback. lol.

On the future of Society and Social Presence (Individual):

For the most part, if you were born later than 1971, the Internet was a part of your life—you were part of, and had access to, the information grid. The Internet helped you navigate and identify some opportunities, but for the most part was a tool for informing yourself or seeking information versus a tool to guide your life direction. If you were born later than 2003, however, you have always lived in a world where everyone you knew had a robust virtual presence—everyone was connected. Not only is information readily available to you, introductions and opportunities are exposed through your social grid. You utilize this technology to navigate to exactly the person or resource you need to assist you with whatever opportunity you choose to pursue…whether it is professional or social. You are part of the global society. Geography means little. Culture is homogenized and becoming more so every decade.

In this presentation, I would address the following questions:

What are the repercussions of this new digital awareness?

How will you game the system?

What will you build/create to leverage this awareness?

What are the social repercussions of those born into a higher level of social connectivity by virtue of the class they are born into?

Will this new technology be an equalizer or will it further divide and fragment us?

How will AI and supercomputers process and capitalize on not only our mapped social hierarchy, but also upon our communication and information exchange patterns?


Another potential:

On the Future of the Business Space (Business Focus):

“We are currently in the infancy of a new industry wherein we try to map and leverage the connectivity and hierarchy of our species. Beyond the entertainment or social applications present today, there is a huge potential for directed thought and collective action through leveraging the social hierarchy or grid. Initiatives such as OpenID, Opensocial, FOF, etc., seek to enable closed networks to open up and allow users to cross pollinate across diverse platforms or applications. But do human beings truly want to exist in a completely open and homogenous community, or do we invariably self segment with others we perceive to be like ourselves?

I believe that we will continue to self cluster and slowly evolve to a more homogenous worldwide culture over time. To achieve this evolution rapidly we need a singular platform that is malleable to sub cultures. Fragmented platforms strung together with a patchwork of competing open standards do not create a singular user experience. Open standards adopted by all may be a great dream, but without ease of use and implementation for partners/publishers they are doomed. That being said, who will be the Microsoft of the social space that creates a base others can truly build upon for their own unique purposes?”

In addition to the above, in this presentation, I would address the following questions:

How will commercial interests weigh in on the development of social platforms?

How will this inhibit or enable the proliferation or development of our digital “presence” or self?

Let me know what you think of either topic! If you have thoughts, please throw them out there. Even if I dont get to speak, I still want to hear what people think....

Ethical Implications of Social Networking

Tacoma Community College's Center for Ethical Development asked me to take part in a panel discussion titled "Internet Privacy? Ethical Implications of Social Networking." Panelists joining me included Valerie Zeeck, a partner in the law firm of Gordon Thomas Honeywell Malanca and Dahiem, who specializes in employment law and litigation; Eva Frey Johnson, director of Student Involvement and Leadership/Diversity Center at Pacific Lutheran University; and Sean VanDommelen, a student leader at Tacoma Community College.

For the framework of the discussion, I wanted to make sure we focused on what I refer to as "social mapping" versus the marketing term "social networking." Social mapping in my mind is the ability to map the degrees of relationship between individuals existing within a network. Social networking covers a wide range of different technologies empowering folks to create content and share/interact with one another.

I believe this technology is not a fad and will profoundly change the way that future generations will interact. New social norms are already developing around both social networking and social mapping. My daughter (currently age 3) will grow up in a world where she knows exactly to whom she maps to in order to find resources, jobs, content, media, etc. In her lifetime she will live in a world where a vast majority of humanity is indexed.

This of course leads to the ethical questions of....

How will the ideas of privacy and individuality be shaped when we exist as publicly viewable individuals? Will we completely open up our lives, or close them down in reaction to exposure?

I tend to think we are witnessing a world homogenization wherein we all begin to finally tolerate and understand one another. This typically only happens with exposure. With a digital presence, we now can be exposed without physically traveling. This process started before the advent of this technology, but I think social networking/mapping will accelerate it and give it wings.

In a human existance where we are all mapped and communication is instantaneous, how will social structures evolve? Will this level the field or create those who are Linked"in" versus Konnected?

I certainly hope we accept the fact that we are all konnected, and that we need to be open to helping one another "surf the human web" that is evolving through this space.....

I am throwing these thoughts out there to create a dialogue....how do you feel on the subject? The future is what we make it. Collaboration and dialogue are key to making anything happen. Nothing great is ever accomplished alone.

I hope you join me in this discussion.....Are you excited about this technology, or do you have concerns? What do you like or dislike about the current technology players in the space? How do you think it will evolve over time?