Notes on Social Objects

If you haven’t read the story of the Microsoft Blue Monster, and Hugh’s thoughts on social objects, I highly recommend it. The full blue monster story is here on Hugh’s blog. I was just rereading it for an upcoming talk that discusses Social Objects.

And of course I would be remiss if I did not embed the video of Jyri Engstrom talking about social objects from 2006.

From Jyri’s talk on strategy when you are building a web site around a social object:

1. Define your object
2. Define your verbs
3. Make those objects shareable
4. Turn invitations to gifts
5. Charge the publishers not the spectators

Rephrased as a question checklist (from 22:21 in the video)

1. What is your object?
2. What are your verbs?
3. How can people share the object?
4. What is the gift in the invitation?
5. Are you charging the publishers or the spectators?

Great notes from the video are posted here.

Along a similar line of research I was reminded of Activity Theory as it relates to Social Objects. From slide 12:

1. Actors have Agency
   1. Power over objects
   2. Attraction to objects
2. Objects have a lifecycle
   1. Construction
   2. Instantiation
   3. Linking

One of those posts that are mostly for me. But if you read this blog, you already know that. #peace