Susan Mernit posted this quote:
“People keep asking me to join the LinkedIn network, but I’m already part of a network, it’s called the Internet.” — Gary McGraw
Steve Yelvington, meanwhile, reports that an Illinois lawmaker wants to ban social networking sites in schools and libraries.
A blog is a social network. Think about it — every good blog has a robust blog roll, and what is a blog roll but a construct of socially relating to other bloggers? So, howardowens.com could be banned. I’ve never been banned before, as far as I know … well, maybe in Iran or China, but I’m not sure. You know, all that free speech stuff I advocate doesn’t go over too well in those countries.
These days, any good web site is working to become more social, more relevant, more conversational. What are links if not socially contructed networking?
You might as well ban the Internet if you’re going to ban social networks.