We are more connected now than ever
Social scientists consider the internet as “a new kind of social space” and points out to blogs as the next frontier in the study of human behavior. Blogs that link to and with one another give a clue about what interests people, what they talk about and what influence them.
Matthew Hurst of Nielsen Buzz Metrics mapped a collection of over 1,000 blogs, identifying link popularity, blogging software and servers used. So what do bloggers find most interesting? Technology and socio-political matters.
I would venture to say that with an army of marketers and technology pundits pushing what they know and what they think the public should know about technology (and most likely, they think the public should know about what THEY know about technology), it’s no small feat that tech blogs are out in full force. The web2.0 machine churns new products at lightning speed and everyone is eager to blog the latest developments in the webosphere. As for gadgets, cell phones, mp3 players, digital cameras and handhelds are few of the items that make up the supposed “cool” factor. It puts lotion on its skin.
The seemingly endless war in Iraq, immigration isseus and privacy-civil liberties debates are enough to spark a lively discussion in cyberspace.
Never has social science been this fun, ain’t it? But more to the point: never have humans been more connected.
