Continuing my effort in catching up (blogging up?) on some recent readings (of “old” material), I recently read Douglas Rushkoff‘s article in The Feature on “Social Currency” (from September 2003) with great interest. Rushkoff argues that “in an interactive space, content is not king. Contact is … Content only matters … because it gives us an excuse to interact with one another.” This was exactly what we were after with our proactive display applications: making digital content (photos or phrases from personal home pages) available in physical spaces in order to facilitate connections — interactions or at least greater awareness — among people in close proximity.
Many of the comments on the article posted at The Feature are also very provocative and insightful. I particularly like the comments of msellers, who says
Social design, creating the ability and setting for people to connect effectively, is critical to the success of any online business. But it cannot exist on its own. I’ve started calling this the ‘social paradox’ – you have to have some content, activity, or something similar that is non-social to act as a catalyst (a word that I prefer over “excuse”) to help people form social bonds.
… connections, not the individuals nor the content, are the fundamental unit of any community … So, content isn’t king: it’s attractor, enabler, catalyst… but it’s also the thing that keeps people coming back, and from taking their valuable connections elsewhere.
Another commentator (offpeak808) , in response to the comment quoted above, draws an analogy between digital world connections and communities to those in the physical world, in the context of a bar:
In the end, this fancy technical BS all comes down to the same basic business, economic, and cultural mechanics of opening a bar. Why do you go to one bar and not the other? Think about it. Why is one club happening, when next door, it’s totally dead? Bars can be in the same neighborhood, offer the same basic decor and functionality, have the same drink menu, at the same price, but some bars are just happening while others are completely empty.
It’s all about your clientel. And how do you attract and keep people coming in? Maybe we should just talk to some bar owners and forget about all this value chain mumbo jumbo. I think they will simply say, “It’s about people who need to be around other people, We just provide them a place to go where they can be around the same sort of people they click with, and we loosen them up a bit with the booze, and people make new friends, complete their business deal, complain about spouses, and maybe even get laid.”
Which brings me to my favorite quote from Rushkoff, at the end of his article:
It’s time for the wireless industry to come to grips with the fact that no matter how sleek the phones or colorful the pictures on their little screens, nobody wants to have sex with either. They want to have sex with each other. Either help them, or get out of the way.