The term “Social Software” or “Social Web” turns up wherever you look and is often mentioned together with Web 2.0 – which as you might have noticed – is aiming for becoming the most used word in any technology or marketing department meeting

Well, I don’t want to miss this trend and have my share in it. But not for the sake of buzz word use itself, but for trying to introduce a solid definition into the current discussions. In my current position (I am currently writing my PhD thesis) I take a look at the academic disussion about these terms and concepts and would like to share my main findings with you:

The term itself goes back to the “Social Software Summit” in New York in 2002. While first attempts to specify this term only mention the aspect of interpersonal connectivity (which can be considered a characteristic of many IT applications), more recent scientific opinions, especially within the field of information science, have come to the following definition:

“Social software (or web) consists of web based applications, which support users in exchanging information, building and nurturing relationships, communicating and collaborating in a social or collective context, as well as the resulting data, and the relationships between people using these applications”. 

The image below displays the concept of social software in a functional scheme. The circle surrounding and including the various types of software represents the communicative function, which all of these tools have in common.

[cf. Ebersbach et al. (2007): Social Web]

The mentioned four types of applications: Wikis, blogs, social sharing, and social networks, however, do not only serve a communicative function. As the definition above points out, communication enables the exchange of information, the collaboration, and the building and nurturing of relationships, which – as a result – constitute digital social networks.

Within the triangle of these three functions, the four types of social software can be placed according to their main affiliation. Furthermore, not only the various applications play important roles for the concept of social software but also the data mentioned in this definition, which results from the interactions within the described fields of activity. As these applications spotlight the user and only serve as a platform for his/her activities, the information provided by such services seems to be of a different quality.

It is user-generated content that decides over popularity and success of the here described family of web applications. User Created [or Generated] Content thereby is defined as “content made publicly available over the Internet, which reflects a certain amount of creative effort, and which is created outside of professional routines and practices“ [Vickery & Wunsch-Vincent 2007]
Well…. I’ll talk about “User Generated Content” more in detail another time, since I believe it is this concept, which drives the true innovation within Social Software.