7 types of collaborative services on the digital platform and more

1. Designing collabora.ve services on the
digital pla4orm
The role of ICT in the diffusion of social innova5on
Baek Joon Sang
PhD candidate
DIS‐INDACO
Politecnico di Milano

2. “How does ICT influence collabora5ve
services?”

3. Preliminary research: Case studies
• Aim: To collect the cases of collabora5ve service on the digital
plaForm. To iden5fy the use of ICT in collabora5ve services
and their impact on the social network of collabora5ve
organiza5ons
• Partner: The Founda5on of Banca E5ca
• Period: 2008 November ~ 2009 July
• Method: Website analysis, interview (on and offline)
• Results: Light analysis of 25 cases, in‐depth analysis of 10
cases h[p://www.sustainable‐everyday.net/codi/?cat=1

4. Criteria for selec.ng the cases
• More than 100 candidates of digital solu5ons – web and
mobile plaForms – have been looked into.
• 25 Cases were selected using the three criteria:
1. A service uses informa5on communica5on technologies to
promote itself and enhance communica5on within community.
2. A service requires collabora5on in both the physical and the
digital worlds.
3. A service must be designed and provided by users in order to
sa5sfy their unmet social needs. Therefore, government or
corporate‐oriented cases were excluded.
• 10 Cases were selected from the 25 cases for in‐depth
analysis.

6. Grofun
Green map
Pledgebank
Open green map
Ac5vmob
Couch surfing
No 10 Pe55ons
Meetup
FixMyStreet
Diabe5cs' meetup Hitchhikers
mySociety.org
Katrinalist.net
RED Open
Shelfari
Health Project
Bookcrossing Aka aki Hope ins5tute
Carrotmob Mapo dure
Vicini vicini
Economia solidale
Zero rela5vo
One life Japan
Peladeiros
Solidarius
Sistema FBES

7. Finding 1. 7 types of collabora.ve service
1. Producer/consumer network
2. Mapping diffused informa5on
3. Aggregate social ac5on
4. Crea5ng social network for conviviality
5. Mutual support circle
6. Competences, 5me and products exchange
7. Products, places and knowledge sharing

8. 1. Producers/consumers network
Producer/consumer network is a type of collabora5ve service in
which producers and consumers pursue mutual benefits by
establishing a direct network.

9. 2. Mapping diffused informa.on
Mapping diffused informa5on is a collabora5ve service in which
users collaborate to map diffused loca5onal informa5on.

10. 3. Aggregated social ac.on
Aggregated social ac5on is a collabora5ve service in which
people act together and use their collec5ve power to achieve
social goals.

11. 4. Crea.ng social network for conviviality
Crea5ng social network for conviviality is a collabora5ve service
whose primary goal is to improve social conviviality by forming
and reinforcing a social network. People are onen from the same
locality and interact face‐to‐face and virtually on a regular basis.

12. 5. Mutual‐support circles
Mutual support circles are a collabora5ve service where people
provide mutual support to one another in order to solve problems
that they have in common.

13. 6. Competences, .me and products exchange
Competences, 5me and products exchange is a collabora5ve
service in which people collaborate through the exchange of
competences, 5me and products.

14. 7. Products, places and knowledge sharing
Products, places knowledge sharing is a collabora5ve service in
which people collaborate through sharing products, places and
knowledge.

15. Theories
1. The strength of weak 5es (Granove[er, 1973)
2. ICT and social capital (Wellman, 2001)

16. The strength of weak .es
Mark Granove[er claimed that there exist three types of personal 5es:
strong, weak and absent. The strength of the personal 5e is
characterized by the amount of 3me, the emo3onal intensity, the
in3macy and the reciprocal services. He analyzed the spread of
informa5on in social networks and claimed that informa5on spreads
through the weak 5es.

17. GranoveOer’s two types of social .es
The comparison of Granove<er’s strong 3es and weak 3es
Strong 5e Weak 5e
• ormed between families, cliques,
F • ormed by any kind of interac5on
F
rela5ves
• akes arguably decades to be formed
T • akes rela5vely short 5me to be formed
T
• bserved in a group
O • bserved in a network
O
• nforma5on is self‐contained
I • nforma5on is diffused
I

18. GranoveOer’s two types of social .es
The comparison of Granove<er’s strong 3es and weak 3es
Strong 5e Weak 5e
• ormed between families, cliques,
F • ormed by any kind of interac5on
F
rela5ves
• akes arguably decades to be formed
T • akes rela5vely short 5me to be formed
T
• bserved in a group
O • bserved in a network
O
• nforma5on is self‐contained
I • nforma5on is diffused
I

19. The strength of weak .es
“Individuals with many weak 3es are … best placed to diffuse a difficult
innova3on, since some of those 3es will be local bridges (bridges that
connect two groups in a network) .”
(Granove<er, 1973)

20. ICT and social network
In general, there are three different views on how ICT influences
social network:
1. ICT increases social network
2. ICT decreases social network
3. ICT supplements social network

21. ICT and social network
In general, there are three different views on how ICT influences
social network:
1. ICT increases social network
2. ICT decreases social network
3. ICT supplements social network
‐> ICT reinforces the exis5ng social networks and also creates
(mainly) the weak 5es in the virtual space. (Wellman et al., 2001)

22. Group vs. Network
• Group vs. Network (Wellman, 2004)
Group Network
• ightly‐knit and clearly‐bounded
T • parsely‐knit and loosely‐bounded
S
• mpermeable
I • ermeable
P
• hought of as a solidary unit
T • et of connected units: people,
S
organiza5ons, networks
• person belongs to one group
A • person can belong to mul5ple
A
networks
• xamples: family, workgroup,
E • xamples: friendship, terrorist, cash
E
community flows, internet
• Networked individualism: Socie5es are transforming from group‐
based to network‐based (Wellman 2006) and the no5on of
community is also changing.
• ICT is facilita5ng such transforma5on. It enhances weak online 5es.
(Kraut et al. 2001)

23. Phenomena
1. Changing no5on of community (Wellman, 1973)
2. Emerging new tools for collabora5on

24. Changing no.on of community
The no5on of community ‐ the main target and simultaneously a
precondi5on of design for social innova5on and sustainability ‐ is
also changing.
“a group of interac5ng people living in a common loca5on”

25. Changing no.on of community
The no5on of community ‐ the main target and simultaneously a
precondi5on of design for social innova5on and sustainability ‐ is
also changing.
“a group of interac5ng people living in a common loca5on”
Characteris5cs of new communi5es
• he ability to connect with mul3ple social milieus, with limited involvement
T
in each milieu.
• ecreased control over inhabitants and reduced sense of belonging to
D
milieus.
• educed iden3ty and pressures of belonging to groups.
R
• c3ve networking is more important than going along with the group.
A

26. Changing no.on of community
The no5on of community ‐ the main target and simultaneously a
precondi5on of design for social innova5on and sustainability ‐ is
also changing.
“a group of interac5ng people living in a common loca5on”
“the networks of interpersonal 5es that provide sociability,
support, informa5on, a sense of belonging, and social
iden5ty”

27. Emerging new tools for collabora.on
Collabora5on benefits from ICT through:
• Sharing and crea5ng the Crea5ve Commons
• Various tools that enable easy and efficient communica5on
and interac5on between the par5cipants
• Easy par5cipa5on and withdrawal from collabora5on thereby
lowering the threshold of par5cipa5on
• Various incen5ve mechanisms that mo5vate people to
collaborate

28. Collabora.ve services on the digital pla4orm
A hybrid between physical and virtual spaces, local and global
contexts.

29. Finding 2. The structural system of collabora.ve services
A platform hosts one or more enabling solutions
PlaForm e.g.) Zoes

30. Finding 2. The structural system of collabora.ve services
An enabling solution motivates and empowers people to
Enabling solu5on create a service to meet their needs e.g.) Meetup
A platform hosts one or more enabling solutions
PlaForm e.g.) Zoes

31. Finding 2. The structural system of collabora.ve services
Collabora5ve A service created by users involves activities in the digital
service and/or physical world. e.g.) Seattle Social Diabetics
An enabling solution motivates and empowers people to
Enabling solu5on create a service to meet their needs e.g.) Meetup
A platform hosts one or more enabling solutions
PlaForm e.g.) Zoes

32. Finding 2. The structural system of collabora.ve services
An event is the result of a collaborative service in digital and/or
Event physical form. e.g.) Diabetics
Collabora5ve A service created by users involves activities in the digital
service and/or physical world. e.g.) Seattle Social Diabetics
An enabling solution motivates and empowers people to
Enabling solu5on create a service to meet their needs e.g.) Meetup
A platform hosts one or more enabling solutions
PlaForm e.g.) Zoes

33. Findings 2. Typologies of social networks

34. Findings 2. Typologies based on the SN structure

35. Networked individuals

36. Networked individuals

37. A group and individuals

38. A group and individuals

39. Mutually interac.ve individuals

40. Mutually interac.ve individuals

41. Networked groups

42. Networked groups

43. Rela5onal paBerns in basic ICT solu5ons
ICT used by the collected cases was broken down into basic func5onal
units and they were viewed in rela5on to how informa5on flows, and
therefore, how rela5on is formed.
node: transmitter and receiver,
arrow: flow of information,
view point: user

44. Rela5onal paBerns in basic ICT solu5ons
ICT used by the collected cases was broken down into basic func5onal
units and they were viewed in rela5on to how informa5on flows, and
therefore, how rela5on is formed.
node: transmitter and receiver,
arrow: flow of information,
view point: user

45. Networked groups
• Cases: GAS, Ac5vmob, TimeBanks, Meetup,
Peladeiros, Vicini Vicini, Green Map, Dure Coop
• Typologies: Producer/consumer network, Mutual
support circles, Competences, 5me and products
exchange
• Technologies: mailing list, web‐based 5me‐
management sonware, newsle[er, blog, e‐
commerce plaForm, a website with news,
photos, movies and other resources
• Type of interac5on: one to one, one to many
• Tie strength: weak (mainly), strong, poten5al
• SN sketch: In this typology, users form groups in
which they are connected though weak and
strong 5es. The groups are then connected with
other groups through poten5al or weak 5es. It is
like a network of franchises based on P2P
organiza5onal structure. At the center lies a
headquarter that pioneered the service and is
diffusing it successfully. Cases that have diffused
successfully have as many as millions of users.

46. Finding 3. Weak/strong .es in collabora.ve services
Both the weak 5es and strong 5es in collabora5ve organiza5ons
are essen5al to the services produced by them but they play
different roles.
Strong 5es:
• exist mainly in a community (in the tradi3onal sense) where collabora3on
ini3ates and is incubated
• maintain core values of the service
Weak 5es:
• Maintain an organiza3on open
• allow innova3ve ideas to diffuse and replicate
• connect collabora3ve organiza3ons into a network

47. Finding 3. Weak/strong .es in collabora.ve services
Diagnosis
Design
Development
Sustaining innova5on
Scaling, diffusing and connec5ng
Systemic innova5on

48. Finding 3. Weak/strong .es in collabora.ve services
Diagnosis
Design
Development
Sustaining innova5on
Scaling, diffusing and connec5ng
Weak ties
Systemic innova5on Strong ties

49. Finding 3. Weak/strong .es in collabora.ve services
Diagnosis
Design
Development
Sustaining innova5on
Scaling, diffusing and connec5ng
Weak ties
Systemic innova5on Strong ties

50. Finding 3. Weak/strong .es in collabora.ve services
Diagnosis
Design
Development
Sustaining innova5on
Scaling, diffusing and connec5ng
Weak ties
Systemic innova5on Strong ties

51. A new approach to collabora.ve service design
If we can use ICT to direct a social network in a way favorable to
designing and scaling up collabora5ve services and if we
systemize this approach and create a new tool, this tool can
empower designers/developers to design an enabling solu5on
that best prac5ces available technologies and social networks for
the diffusion of the collabora5ve services it supports.

52. Thank you.