Tom Peters (week 5's reading response)
From Collectivate Course Wikis
- This page is for week 5's reading response to Tom Peters' research. For his main page, see Tom Peters. For his research page, see Tom Peters (research page).
The quote:
Peter and Trudy Johnson-Lenz are credited by many as coining the term 'groupware' in 1978, after experiencing EIES for the first time. They defined groupware as:
I have long preferred this definition for two reasons -- first, the word intentional implies conscious design. Second, this definition also contains the important distinction that group processes come before the software. I felt that this definition properly excluded multi-user databases and electronic mail that are not designed specifically to enhance the group process (Allen).
My response:
The Lenz's definition for groupware I find is directly connected with the project Socially Networked Video is trying to release. Groupware as this article suggests is basically the predecesor to the term "Social Software" when the businesses watered down the term. The reason I find this quote interesting is how Allen suggests that this definition leaves out tasks which many users can perform synchronously but still not be considered groupware. I think this is also what seperates our work from other popular video websites such as Google Video and VideoBomb. Sure these websites have users that submit videos and in VideoBomb's case, users which also vote on videos, but there is a real lack of social communication and interconnectedness. This is SNV relates to groupware. In our planned vision of the future for SNV we are planning to develop deep networks of users and not just a database of a collection of people who vote and watch movies. Allen also implies that the software should specifically enhance the group process. This is exactly what SNV is planning to do as well. Even with our first version of SNV it was meant to be a group view, and was often most enjoyable when users were voting against each other. With this new version of an actual social network being implement, everything being programmed is designed to enhance this group proccess Allen refers to.
Works Cited
Allen, Christopher. "Tracing the Evolution of Social Software." Life With Alacrity. 13 Oct. 2004. 2 Mar. 2006 <http://www.lifewithalacrity.com/2004/10/tracing_the_evo.html>.