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
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.
5.
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
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
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)
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
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.