Symposium looks at benefits to social networking
March 14, 2008
Wayne Wanta, director of the Center for the Digital Globe, and professor Patricia Brumfield Fry watch as professor Paul Martin Lester demonstrates how he lectures his class in a virtual reality social networking system on Wednesday in Jesse Wrench Auditorium.
California State University-Fullerton professor Paul Martin Lester never thought he’d have to set a “no flying” rule in his visual communications class.
Lester, one of four panelists to speak at Center for the Digital Globe’s social networking symposium last Wednesday, teaches a course through Second Life, a virtual world developed by Linden Research Inc. In it, organizations can host meetings with avatars and use functions such as text messaging, video streaming and voice-to-voice conversation to simulate real-world interaction.
The panelists met to discuss the potential benefits and functions of social networking as it becomes more popular in American society, touching on topics such as education, economics and legal issues. Lester was not physically present at the symposium; he spoke to the audience via the Second Life program.
When administrators at his school asked Lester to experiment with online mediums to conserve auditorium space, Lester used both Blackboard and Second Life to facilitate the class. Lester said he bought “land” on Second Life and built his classroom, planting virtual trees and installing panels on his virtual room’s walls where he shows streaming videos and PowerPoint slides.
“As my avatar lectures, the students sit on the chairs, couches and carpets,” Lester said. “I ask that they don’t fly or change their appearances during class. Those are changes I never thought I would make.”
Lester said the social networking program was an interesting, effective method of education.
Computer science professor Chi-Ren Shyu said he felt social networking could be used for education, and discussed the potential benefits of social networking to further the work of scientific research. He said he felt social networking would help to bridge gaps between scientific departments and areas of the country, but that getting scientists actively engaged in social networking would take work.
Shyu said an elaborate model consisting of research-based, practice-based and consumer-based interaction infrastructures would make it easier to share information and further research. The system would visually show linkages between departments within universities, connections across universities, researchers and their students, and hospitals and their clinicians.
“It would build a mutual interest bridge,” Shyu said. “It would combine community-based health care practitioners and research scientists to discuss what works and doesn’t work.”
Aside from sharing information, panelists discussed the way that social networking works as a corporate tool and community for users.
Rebecca Phillips, vice president of social networking for Beliefnet.com, a multi-faith and spirituality Web site, explained the financial side of social networking on the Internet.
“Many marketers are wary of associating certain brands with social networks,” Phillips said. “But niche social networks often allow for specially targeted advertising.”
Phillips said advertisers gauge a social network’s success by page views per visitor, measuring the number of pages a user sees during that visit and, consequently, the number of ads.
Mainstream social networking site MySpace.com has an average of 36 page views per visitor and Facebook.com has 18, she said. Beliefnet.com earns about nine page views per visitor.
The discussion turned to legal issues on social networking Web sites and what actions and consequences users or networking sites should be held accountable for.
MU law professor Patricia Brumfield Fry offered insight into the social networking world through a commercial lawyer’s viewpoint. She said because of the Internet, crimes like gambling, terrorism, stalking and identity theft are becoming more common.
“The bottom line is that laws apply just as they do with in-person interaction,” Brumfield said. “The medium isn’t important. Threatening other people, intent to cause harm, all of that still applies.”
Whether they are using it for medical research, bringing communities or together or teaching classes, the members of the panel all said there are still many more functions to be explored when it comes to social networking.
“I don’t think we really know yet just how exciting it all can be,” Fry said.
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