Ever get the feeling the media is desperate to create new buzz around the slowly-reviving economy, and that they’re zooming in on the few Internet success stories and trying to whip them up to boiling ASAP? That was my take when I read the NY Times piece on Danah Boyd, who studies Friendster and is an officially smart and interesting blogger and thinker.
On one hand, it was great to see Danah get such an extensive write-up; she’s a terrific thinker and the ideas express in this story are spot on.
On the other hand, the story seemed like another example of the Times trying to codify a trend by writing about it.
In this case, the trend they were seeking to codify, via Danah, was: Friendster is about more than dating, even if the founder didn’t plan it that way. Friendster reveals new ways to ‘bend’ human experience and create unique connections. Social networks (aka Friendster) are good. And so on.
Beware the hype. Read Danah without an intermediary and dig her wisdom.
Some interesting comments on this story on Judith Meskill’s blog.