From the earliest days of the Internet, people have developed technology to enable cooperation and communication. The presence of tools such as email, Usenet and mailing lists have enabled many of us to be more productive and develop relationships over extended distances. While the research that goes into the development of these technologies is more appropriately situated in the CSCW community, the application of these technologies are clearly connected with the graphics community.
Recently, a new wave of technologies have emerged to enable different types of sociable and cooperative interactions. The term 'social software' was coined by Clay Shirky to refer to the new wave of sociable technologies such as blogs, wikis and social network systems. While these technologies are far less pervasive than their predecessors, their applications are quickly evolving as users recognize their power in intimate and public situations.
Empowered by Wifi, technology conferences have recognized the power of these tools for organizing attendees and enabling them to have a more enjoyable experience. While the conference sessions are the purported reason for attending these events, the majority of valuable interactions emerge from transient conversations, backchannel discussion and after-hours activities. As such, we want to provide SIGGRAPH attendees with tools that will enhance that part of the SIGGRAPH experience.
^^^What TechnologiesAt SIGGRAPH 2004, we are focusing on three different technologies: a wiki, a blog and IRC backchannels. Each of these mediums has different benefits for the SIGGRAPH community.
Wikis are ideal for group information sharing because anyone can edit or view the wiki. A wiki can be similar to a community bulletin board. In the context of SIGGRAPH, wikis are being used to share information about the attendees and the events. We hope that the wiki will help people self-organize and find new mechanisms to connect with like-minded others.
Blogs are a great way to have information disseminated in a reverse-chronological manner. While only limited people may post a blog entry, anyone can comment, allowing for conversations to form. At SIGGRAPH, we are using a blog to document the conference's more sociable side. Student volunteers, organizers and press will post interesting tidbits, pictures, interviews, etc. The blog is intended to be a fun place to find out about what is happening around the conference. Announcements will also be made here.
IRC backchannels - and instant messenger - are great ways to converse with fellow attendees about the content of the conference. Both are platforms for online chatting. At SIGGRAPH, we hope that the backchannel will be used to provide pointers to information that the speaker is referring to, to ask questions about the content of the talk and to connect with others of a similar mindset.
This page is a very brief explanation of the social software at SIGGRAPH. We are sure that it is not enough information for everyone attending, but we aren't sure what information you would ideally want. This is the perfect place to ask questions and share feedback. On this page, click "Edit this page" and scroll down to this section. Type in your questions/comments and click save. We will read this and get back to you. Make sure to sign it by writing your name in square brackets. If you haven't made your own wiki page, after you are done editing this page, click on your name and write in contact information on that page. -danah boyd
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