Hardlinks and Soft

For the past several months I have been exploring Plaxo and Linkedin. Plaxo is a social networking tool which offers some interesting linkages - from Flickr images, to blogposts, to a series of other tools which I am not sure I want or need. What intrigues me about both services is the potential for community links. I like Plaxo better because it ties more things together. I am not sure what happens when Comcast begins to exploit the technology.

A few years ago Robert Putnam wrote a book called Bowling Alone which argued that civic institutions were falling by the wayside - things like bowling leagues and Elks clubs. Putnam's argument reminded me a lot of Malthus - who for save a few changes like the invention of the steel plow might have been a bit more on target. In Putnam's case he was struck on the notion of geographic proximity. In this world that is increasingly unimportant. As the communities of the last century begin to falter - the new ones are taking their place. Plaxo and LinkedIn are but two examples.

I would like Plaxo to do a bit better at linking - for example, if a member of your network reads your blog from Plaxo and comments - the comments don't get mediated back to the original blog post. I think that is a defect. But it could be structured like that to allow people to have both private (Plaxo) and public (the blog) personas.

The potential for these things could be important in many ways. Plaxo allows you to link your address book with others. I have found as I have used both systems that some of my contacts have linked up with others in my network. In the old days that would have been done by a phone call but now using the net that is not necessary. With the declining price in online storage and the increasing dispersion of broadband - people genuinely could keep major portions of their interests, lives and backgrounds on the net. At my point in life the job search function and professional contact options are less important to me than the linkages to family and friends. At this point I have been surprised by the diversity of people (in terms of age and backgrounds) that are using these new kinds of electronic communities - destroying the weak thread that Putnam tried to create but offering lots of possibilities yet to come.