Social Computing and its Evolution over the Years

Today, anyone who is even vaguely aware of computers has heard about social media whether they realize it or not. Anyone who uses Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are virtually embedded in the social computing framework. There have even been movies centered on the start of the online community upswing. What started off in forums and chat rooms have evolved into status updates and tweets, giving up to the minute information about where you and your friends are. So how has social computing gotten to where it is now and where will this evolution go?

When the basic concepts for online social interaction were first being conceived, the best framework for social computing was the chat room. Instant messaging was just being developed and the forums available were crude at best. People wanted to talk to each other, to interact and to create friendships and relationships online but the tools were so crude it could be extremely frustrating. But as technology improved and bandwidth became cheaper, the tools became more refined and the connectivity became more stable.

Today, the tools are in place for easy social connections to everyone in our lives who wants to participate. With sites like Twitter and Facebook, sharing information about ourselves and interacting with others is as simple as typing some notes and clicking a mouse or even as easy as texting on your phone. Since internet connectivity is becoming so ubiquitous, being able to see what is going on and to show others what is up with you can be a continuous process. No longer do you have to wait to get home to send emails, use instant messengers or even to interact with others; you can do it right from your smart phone or Wi-Fi connected laptop or tablet PC.

Business applications for this type of social interaction computing are just as flexible and give teams and the entire enterprise more power as well. Because teams and management can update statutes, collaborate on projects and utilize online white boards to brainstorm with, not only can they work from wherever they are but they can work more effectively and efficiently.  An added benefit of social computing in the workplace is that workers online profiles gives management a way to build better teams since they can take better advantage of each employee’s skill sets.

While being online can take away a bit of privacy, users seem to be willing to let that privacy go to improve their interaction experience. This means that the future of social computing will only be limited by how much privacy users are willing to accede to improve their interaction processes. Many aspects can be automated and in doing so, the next level of online socialization will evolve.