Endorsements and "Networked individualism"
Jinfo Blog

By Scott Brown

Abstract

Blog posts and tweets are one thing to use and manage as information sources. How do we begin to make sense of and integrate "content" - and it IS content - such as number of endorsements for a particular skill, or star ratings? And how is an increasingly networked world shift expectations for managing information?

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In this issue of the Information Content Newsletter, Tim Buckley Owen looks at the new feature of “skills endorsement” in LinkedIn – where one can, in a single click, endorse any skill on a connection’s profile. It’s extremely easy to do – I’ve endorsed several of my connections’ skills. But this new feature and this theme of online endorsement got me thinking about the role of endorsements, reviews and other user-created content.

Setting aside the darker side of online endorsements, such as defamation, negative reviews and fake “likes” in Facebook, I was struck anew by the sheer amount of user-generated content, and also a shift in what “content” looks like. Blog posts and tweets are one thing to use and manage as information sources. How do we begin to make sense of and integrate “content” – and it IS content – such as number of endorsements for a particular skill, or star ratings?

At the same time, Pew Internet (from the Pew Internet & American Life Project) has recently launched their “Networked” site, promoting a new book by Lee Rainie and Barry Wellman. The main site starts out by stating ‘Some worry that this new (online network) environment makes us isolated and lonely. But in Networked, Lee Rainie and Barry Wellman show how the large, loosely knit social circles of networked individuals expand opportunities for learning, problem solving, decision making and personal interaction.’ I think this is increasingly evident in how we seek information ourselves, and how our users seek information.

Elsewhere on the site, Rainie and Wellman note that ‘people now expect to find information on almost every subject quickly’, and ‘they pack more information and communications exchanges into their days and they are interruptible in their activities more often.’ As information professionals, we have both opportunities and challenges in these trends.

One of the gems of the Networked site is the authors’ "New Rules of Networked Individualism", part of a chapter excerpt entitled "How to thrive in a networked world". This post essentially provide some very good guidance on managing one’s networks, including segmenting networks, managing time and boundaries, and building trust and social capital. It seems that endorsements, reviews and user-generated content – such as LinkedIn’s skills endorsements – will continue to be a part of our ever-expanding world of information, and our increasingly networked world.

As always, I welcome your input!

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