Augmented Social Networks

Augmented Social Networks (ASN's) are platforms for `trusted exchange'.

Read the article at http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue8_8/jordan/

Commentary

Contextual commentary from Lyon Albaugh:

Personal communication: "I would highly recommend the whole article if you have time. This article fits in very well with my recent insights about the relation of P2P and alternative currencies. I agree with you that P2P as a medium (because it is both geared towards immaterial production, and creation of social capital) necessarily transcends the necessity of a currency to regulate its interaction. However, the implementation of a universal wage is most likely far off. In the mean time, compensation for ones online P2P contributions can be fulfilled with a yin style complementary currency (Lietaer's term for a currency that utilizes cooperation for the creation of social capital, compared to yang style currencies that utilize competition for the creation of material goods within a market environment). However, this would only truly be useful if one's contributions within any given online community would be accepted by other online communities via a trusted exchange system. My belief is that the ASN is a possible platform for that exchange, that will help supplement the pay of the noble knowledge worker until the universal wage becomes a reality. This whole vision is still very blurry and will need much refinement. The way my mind usually works is it intuits a broad and big picture solution and then must go through and assess the details to see if it is a practically viable option. Anyways, I welcome your critical feedback, as well as your recent thoughts about the relation of alternative currencies and the universal wage."

Report

The Augmented Social Networks Link Tank report (2003) is available from http://open.coop/tiki-download_wiki_attachment.php?attId=4

"Building Identity and Trust into the Next Generation Internet

Could the next generation of online communications strengthen civil society by being better at connecting people to others with whom they share affinities, so they can more effectively exchange information and self-organize? Could such a system help to revitalize democracy in the 21st century? When networked personal computing was first developed, engineers concentrated on extending creativity among individuals and enhancing collaboration between a few. They did not much consider what social interaction among millions of Internet users would actually entail. It was thought that the Net's technical architecture need not address the issues of "personal identity" and "trust," since those matters tended to take care of themselves.

This paper proposes the creation of an Augmented Social Network (ASN) that would build identity and trust into the architecture of the Internet, in the public interest, in order to facilitate introductions between people who share affinities or complimentary capabilities across social networks. The ASN has three main objectives: 1) To create an Internet-wide system that enables more efficient and effective knowledge sharing between people across institutional, geographic, and social boundaries. 2) To establish a form of persistent online identity that supports the public commons and the values of civil society. 3) To enhance the ability of citizens to form relationships and self-organize around shared interests in communities of practice in order to better engage in the process of democratic governance. In effect, the ASN proposes a form of "online citizenship" for the Information Age."