Social networks and their business models February 11, 2007
Posted by jameyo in futurism, virtualism.trackback
The future of the Internet is here: social networks. I don’t think there’s any denying that, after looking at the success of MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn and Second Life. Social networking spaces have much to offer our students and will be a significant portion of our students’ online future.
That said, the business models of these sites are preventing educators who are sympathetic and enthusiastic about these sites (read: me) from being able to successfully integrate them into my teaching. My MySpace page has been huge for my radio show. I’ve been able to connect with artists and fans I’d have never otherwise had. It gives me a voice and a reach that is unparalleled by terrestrial radio. Unfortunately, every time I visit MySpace, I’m invariably greeted by the scantily clad and poorly Photoshopped girls of true.com. Either that, or its the insipid Flash ads beseeching me to kiss the rockstar or smote the gorilla. Sometimes it’s both. Facebook is much more benign about their ads, yet our district sees fit to block it.
I see a powerful new tool for education in the metaverse. Second Life and the MUVEs (massive user virtual environments) that will inevitably follow it have the potential to reshape education as we currently know it. Their power is undeniable if you’ve spent any time at all in the virtual world yet their adoption into our educational framework will always slam headlong against the business model the companies that pioneer those worlds choose to employ. Linden Labs, the creators of Second Life (SL), have adopted a (non-) policy of allowing anyone and everyone to subscribe. A teen “grid” does exist but it can’t be accessed by adults, except for those who’ve undergone a background check. The lack of enforceability of LL’s policies makes it suspect for any educator who wishes to bring SL into the K-12 classroom, which is unfortunate. Higher ed entities are jumping on SL with good reason: it’s a rich environment and suitable for their audience. K-12 educators are going to have to wait till another MUVE comes along that is more suited to education.
The business models that recover venture capital simply prevent their adoption into the classroom, unless that is the specific, stated goal of the technology. The users of these environments are the 20-somethings that have recently left the K-12 world and the marketing stream that is targeted toward them prevents their wider adoption. I’d love to tell the makers of these worlds that there’s lots of money to be made in education, if they would only make it possible for us to bring it into the classroom.
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