Social Web: Research 'treasure trove'

Buried in a New York Times article about the future of computing are some interesting comments about behavioral research on the social Web. That includes research about teen users. In social-networking sites behavior "can be tracked on a scale never before possible," says the Times in its coverage of a symposium held in Washington this past month by the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board. "Social networking research promises a rich trove for marketers and politicians, as well as sociologists, economists, anthropologists, psychologists, and educators." Pretty soon, researchers say, people will be wearing a tiny digital device with a mic and a camera and "essentially record his or her life. The potential for communication, media and personal enrichment is striking." It may bring self-awareness to a whole new level, the way social networking is enhancing people's social situational awareness. But there's a downside to consider: a growing tension between people's privacy and researchers' hunger for knowledge.