Hi John,
I can see social networking techniques
replacing (or supplementing) coffee break meetings and even the old invisible college
idea.
Yes,
I would see social media is supplementing coffee breaks meetings,
conferences and the like. I not only want to be able to read your
emails but I want to be able to speak with you face-to-face as well.
However, unless you have specially designed social networking services
focussed on the needs of researchers (and subject specific) the possibilities
seem limited.
You raise an interesting point, namely that there is a possibility that services that arise on the web may not be sufficiently well adapted to the specific needs of academic communities to be of use to them. I don't know how 'designed' those academic services might have to be to be useful, but if there is enough awareness then perhaps their development can be shaped in a better way as they evolve?
Although now quite an old idea I still see
a role for virtual journals.
If you mean open access journals, then I would hope that their role increases! Without journals, open access repositories and preservation, what would scholarly social networks have to share and talk about?
We still need to have
humans who actually 'understand' rather than compare keywords in
the loop. Only with understanding can you see analogies and recognise the
possible usefulness of discoveries in other fields.
As Scott Wilson says in his reply, 'This is where the SN approach shines'.
I agree entirely about watching what
people do with these social networking (and other information related) tools. I
think what we can predict with certainty is that they will do things the
designers never intended :-) .
Quite, and not knowing how it will shake down makes it interesting to follow.
