It dawned on me this Sunday afternoon, as we launch CareSpace into the wild, that it might not be intuitive to everybody on how we can use "Social Web" technologies to make it easier for people in areas of disabilities and health issues? So I figured "Why not?" spend Sunday afternoon talking a bit about what is going on with the new "Social Web" and how we can leverage it to our benefit. The Patriots played Thursday night this week so it gives us a little extra time to pontificate around some of this stuff.
Much of today's web innovation is a direct result of people’s willingness to share, be open, and most importantly participate on sites. It is difficult to imagine just a few years ago we were debating if people would feel comfortable entering their credit card numbers on the Internet. Wow - has that game changed! Today, younger generations of people update their every single move on Twitter and Facebook. Somewhat older generations also post their entire resume and all their credentials online at Linkedin. The last year or two the "Social Web" has really started to take off like a rocket ship. When a shift in human behavior collides with a medium such as the Internet the potential for innovation is boundless. To say “We have only scratched the surface,” might actually be an understatement.
This is probably a bit of old news, depending where you are on your social web curve, but two big sites that have gone main stream in the last 12 - 18 months are:
Facebook - a site/platform where you can connect with family and friends (new and old); share photos; chat online with people you know; and play lots and lots of games. Facebook has 160 million users (across the world) so you are almost guaranteed to be able to connect with someone you know. Facebook is all about connecting and doing social things with people you know online.
Linkedin – is more of a professional networking site where you can post your resume; map your network of business connections; give and receive references; look for jobs; network; and ask and answer questions around industry domain expertise. It is much more of a business networking site.
Depending on who you hang with, you probably have received an invitation or two to join these great sites in your inbox. Although Linkedin and Facebook both have different objectives, they have more then a few things in common:
1. Their growth has been driven 100% by the consumer’s willingness to “openly participate.”
2. They each serve a clear purpose and need.
3. They started with niche audiences and evolved. Facebook started with college students at Harvard. Linkedin launched as a tool primarily for tech professionals to network with each other.
4. They required significant investment to get where they are today. Facebook has raised $516 million dollars since its inception in 2004. Linkedin has received $103 million in investments since its inception in November 2003.
Linkedin and Facebook are 4-5 years old, have been wildly successful, and will continue to dramatically change how we stay connected with friends and share our professional credentials.
One of the other sites whose meteoric rise has transformed people’s willingness to openly participate is Digg. Digg is lesser known outside the tech community, even though it has over 35 million active users and is one of the top 25 sites on the Internet – traffic wise. Digg was also started in 2004, and is commonly referred to as a “Social News” or “Collaborative Filtering” type site. On Digg, users share content with each other by submitting stories, articles, and other media they are interested in. When you submit a story, you a put a few tags (organization structure) on the article so others are easily able to find the content. People on Digg, then vote these stories up (interested) or down (not interested.) In adition to marking your interest related to content on Digg, some interesting conversation starts to happen around these articles. As a result, a tremendously strong community starts to build in areas of interest. Digg is much different then Facebook because in most cases you don't know your friends. You just know that you have similar interests based on the stories you have Dugg. Digg uses the power of community to customize your news and other aspects of online entertainment. It is turning the media world upside down.
So what does this all have to do with CareSpace? At CareSpace, we firmly believe the same open concepts that enable Facebook, Linkedin, and Digg can be used to improve access to information for the millions of people who care for loved ones with disabilities and health issues. Rather then organize news stories (Digg), friends (Facebook), or business contacts (LinkedIn), on CareSpace we can work together to organize all the things important to consumers who care for loved ones: supplemental benefits, doctors, and other helpful content (Careguides.)
The purpose of the site is not to create new content - we do not have editors. There is a lot of great content already on the web. It's just all over the place. By working with the community to better organize useful imformation, we beleive we all can make it easier for everybody who cares for a loved one with a disability or health issue to find information. Interacting around organized content will also drive interesting ways to connect with people in areas of interest. CareSpace is a site that enables the community to organize content and help each other.
There is only one thing we need to make this happen - community participation! So if you haven't had chance yet, come on into the site or send it over to a friend. If you receive a supplemental benefit that is already in the site "Click On It." If you receive one that is not in the site then "Click the Submit" link and add it for others. Play around with the Careguides application. If you know a helpful resource, feel free to add a link and put a little organization around the content.
Give the site a shot and work with us on this special project. The only way this will happen is if it is driven by the community.
Brian
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