Social Computing?!?!

It was an ordinary school day. Nothing really special. I went to school early in the morning to attend my 8am advertising and print class. The professor is a really great man. He is actually one of the guys behind the design of popular logos of really BIG brand names and companies. KUDOS to our professor! :)

Afterwards, I attended my next Social Computing class wherein we were told by our professor that next week we are going to have a lab session on Facebook which is a becoming quite the fad these fast few years because of its Social Computing nature that makes everyone addicted to it. I had to agree with my professor because I was really turning into a Facebook addict ever since I tried it for the first time. There was so much interaction you can do with it that Friendster and other similar interaction spaces and tools that I have used are no match for it. (I particularly like the fluff friends!!!) Yes, I have become a victim of Facebook. I actually spent hours and hours trying out Facebook. Anyway, it is a good thing that Facebook is our group report/paper topic for our class. So learning a lot about Facebook and even the tiny details about it can mean a lot to my grade in this class. So at least, I am really engrossed in learning about it :P I wish studying for all my subjects is always that much fun! :)

Maybe in the future, teachers should turn to Social Computing to really improve the way things are done in the class. That way, students would really enjoy learning.

After all, a lot of technologies nowadays are really booming because of their social computing components. Also due to social computing such as forums, user reviews, blogs and the like, products can be built or destroyed in a single day. Let's face it, before we actually buy something like for example a cellphone, we actually ask for other people's opinion if its good or not. If most people say its not, we would NEVER buy it and vise versa if they say it's highly recommended. Even when we go out to watch movies, we always ask the same question "Maganda ba? (Is it really good?)". Who in his right mind would want to buy something that would end up as a waste of money? No one! Exactly the point of how valuable Social Computing is to our present generation especially since almost everyone now has access to the Internet.

I commend a lot of websites who actually realized the importance of Social Computing. They're smart! For example, try online shopping. There are actually two types nowadays. The first type is the traditional one wherein all the information in the website including the product info came from the website owner or the webmaster. However, due to the social computing trend, a lot of websites have changed their approach. They have included 'upload product pictures' by users; user reviews; recommend "other products other users bought after buying this product" or "similar books" or "other books by this author"; even track the user's behavior and preferences in buying products in the background and other gigs wherein there other users can give their feedback and input.

There is so much social computing applications and tools out there nowadays that people are so crazy about. Instant messaging system such as the all famous Yahoo Messenger is one of the long lasting and ever being used messaging system by people all over the world. For me, what YM has that makes it stand out is that it has so much more interaction tools and capabilities embedded in it (aside from being really user friendly) that allows users to easily represent many aspects of their identity such as their current emotions (thanks to the really well designed and improved emoticons and the audibles) and being visible only to certain people at a time (which is something we all want to do in real life). Not to put other messaging tools down, I have never used Google Talk. However, I have used the updated Microsoft Live Messenger which also have some aspects that I really like such as the games that I can play there which I think are really so much better than the ones I can play in YM. Aside from that the loading time in Live is also faster. What I like about the chat feature in Live is that you can choose to either chat in text or by sketching it through the integrated sketch-like feature. There are also lots of nice backgrounds to choose from which are quite trendy and not commercially driven which is what I encounter in YM. Aside from that, I also like the "Winks" which is pretty unique. Unfortunately, there is only but a limited number of them available so it also limits the user's use for them. Unfortunately, I continue to encounter the unrelenting bugs in both messaging systems.

Another instant messaging tool that I have really become fond of was the IMVU. When I first tried it, I also really got addicted to it. It was so cool because it was in 3D. Aside from that, it was so much easier to represent myself (my identity) in the digital world. I was so crazy about it that I really tried to make my avatar look a lot like me. How is this possible? In IMVU, you can actually shop online for your avatar, dress him/her up, and make your avatar move around and act human (with certain limitations of course wherein censorship is involved). The rooms or interaction spaces where your avatar chats or interacts with other avatars is also quite remarkable because these rooms/spaces are also in 3D. They are made to replicate real-life locations or places like a cafe, ferris-wheel, rooftop, rooms, etc. There is so much possibilities in real life that trying to replicated here. You can also take snapshots with your friends and keep them in albums. You can also receive gifts and give away gifts. Also when you talk or chat with other IMVU people, your conversation appears in 'bubbles' (somewhat like in the comics). And if you are chatting with someone, then you are doing something else, the person you are chatting with is informed that you are doing something else (somewhat likened to real time experience wherein people actually see if you are really focused on them or not).

Now that's just the software side of things. Social Computing is also involved in hardware applications such as the new "Microsoft Surface" (http://www.microsoft.com/surface/). The first time I saw its video, I was so in so much awe... I thought it was so AMAZING! To have such a natural environment to interact with the things that you place on its surface. Aside from that, while you are interacting with it, your friends can also use it. One example I clearly remember in the video is when ordering in the restaurant. For example, if you and your date decided to eat in a restaurant, the menu is already integrated in the "Surface". Both of you can choose what you want to eat by selecting them on the menu with the touch of your fingertips. Then later on if both of you decides to split the bill on what each of you just ate, then both of you can simply place your credit cards on the "Surface" and you can simply just throw the picture representations of the food you ate to your credit card and your date can do the same by tossing his share of the food representations to his/her credit card. Again you both do this with the touch of your fingertips! AND Voila! You have split the bill.

So there :) I believe that there is still much more to see in the future of Social Computing. I wonder what how radical it will turn the world around in the years to come ;)