Social Networking

Working Group.

An Inclusive Digital Economy

A workshop to address the challenges of including older people within the Digital Economy.
The University of Newcastle 14th 15th July 2008.
 Objectives

Consider the opportunities presented by social networking,either through the

adaptation of existing facilities or through the development of new more
appropriate services.
Consider the barriers to use of existing social networking sites and services
Consider and formulate the most appropriate research strategies for
understanding these barriers and how to overcome them, either through
adaptive or new design

•To do this we will work toward the following specific goals:

•1. Draft a preliminary paper, covering the above issues from discussion
•2. Examine possible collaboration with other Digital Inclusion wGs
•3. Gather relevant literature for literature review
•4. Feed these back to the other working groups as a set of concise opinions,
objectives and strategies
 What sites?
source: Impact of Social Networking, Hitwise, Jan 2008
 source:
http://weblogs.hitwise.com/robin-goad/2008/04/top_10_uk_search_terms_social_networks
 source:
http://weblogs.hitwise.com/robin-goad/2007/11/social_networks_overtake_webma.html
 source:
http://weblogs.hitwise.com/robin-goad/2007/11/social_networks_overtake_webma.html
Source: Impact of Social Networking, Hitwise, Jan 2008
visitors to http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/
source: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/10458.asp
source: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/10458.asp
 Opportunities

social contact

decrease in social isolation

community involvement

information sharing/retrieval

?
 Barriers

Internet/computer use issues

Interface issues

Social capital issues

Interest/familiarity/purpose

?
The problems of facebook for older users
http://jive.benarent.co.uk/
Peter on youtube
Youtube: geriatric1927
• “What this analysis highlights are those aspects of
technology use which can make it ‘meaningful’ to older
users. It is not the functionality of YouTube that inspires
Peter to tell his life story but the social context that it
appears within. The intergenerational nature of this
context is highly influential, directing and

• informing the co-creation of the narrative”. (Harley &

Fitzpatrick, in press).