Lesson 1 Course Introduction

THINK

1.SOCIAL SOFTWARE
Which websites in the picture (top) are familiar to you? What do you think
social software is? What do you think makes social software social?

I know YouTube, facebook, Gmail, dabble and Wikipedia from that picture.
The term "social software" is a little broad, and to be honest, I don't
come up with exact words to explain it. But, I think that "social
software" is a device which through anyone can connect to anyone easily
and grobally, using Internet.  As I just mentioned, the condition that
anyone is easily available to it makes "social software" actually social.
Moreover, the conditions that good number of people have access to it, and
can take place to improve it is needed to maintain "social software"
social.


2. SOCIAL NETWORK
How would you define a network? What is social about a social network?
"Social network" is a system which is prevailed in the society. It doesn't
have to be always on Internet, in other words, it can be telephone, radio,
and so on.  "Social network" is social since it connects people and people
in the society by using any tools.


EXPLORE
1. Do you know of a recent situation in which knowledge has become
available first through social media?

Umm, I'm afraid that I cannot find a recent situation.


2. Make notes on what you think the key words are?

connect, hidden, job, friends, partners


3. What were three things that surprised you? Why?
>>1 out of 8 couples married in the US in 2005 met online.
- Since I have thought to meet boy/girlfriend online would be rather
rare, this fact surprised me a lot! I wonder how those love became real..

>>100% of 2006 Indian graduates can speak English.
- Because not so many Japanese can speak English even though they study
at least for a few years, and can read and write it, but the fact that
100% of Indian graduates in 2006 can speak it is amazing!

>>70% of 4-year-old children have used a computer.
- Since I surely had not touched to a computer when I was that age, about
16 years ago.


DO

I choose to take this course about social computiong, because in our
today's world, social software occupies surprisingly a lot. We cannot even
live without it. It is actually useful, but at the same time, it can be
dangerous if we don't have much knowledge, or pay attention to the danger.
Through this course, I would like to gain knowledge of it, and make it
useful in rest of my life.