WEBVTT - How Niche Social Networks Work

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<v Speaker 1>Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera.

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<v Speaker 1>It's ready. Are you get in touch with technology? With

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<v Speaker 1>tech stuff from how stuff Works dot com. Welcome to

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<v Speaker 1>the podcast. This is ancient time. I'm an editor in

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<v Speaker 1>How Stuff Works. With me, I've got agent a god

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<v Speaker 1>grows number. It's one of my writers. Nice. Okay, maybe

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<v Speaker 1>they don't get alright. You threw me off like a

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<v Speaker 1>a godrows numbers constant. Oh, well, you know I am.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sorry. We've lost everyone but the hardcore science geeks. Yeah, well,

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<v Speaker 1>I'll tell you. My name is Chris Poulett. I'm an

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<v Speaker 1>editor here, and with me is Jonathan Strickling. Hey there.

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<v Speaker 1>And the reason I was doing the spy thing was

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<v Speaker 1>because we were talking about when we were coming up

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<v Speaker 1>with podcast ideas, this brand new thing that the US

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<v Speaker 1>government has called a space. It's a it's a network

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<v Speaker 1>for spies, not just not just a network and online network,

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<v Speaker 1>and not just an online network and online social network. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>this is going to be a classified classified That's why

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<v Speaker 1>it was in the news, right, classified social network for spies.

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<v Speaker 1>Not you know, it shouldn't laugh. We're you know, we

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't get on it. You know because we're not spies.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you know that the lead Seriously, you're making some

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<v Speaker 1>big SIPs right now, I could right now be repelling

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<v Speaker 1>into somebody's office. But yeah, this is this is a

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<v Speaker 1>US government project and they're supposed to it's supposed to

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<v Speaker 1>enable sharing of information between different agencies, so different spies

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<v Speaker 1>within those agencies, right, so you're going to be able

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<v Speaker 1>to connect and share what what the latest information is.

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<v Speaker 1>And this is actually a huge deal if if it's real.

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<v Speaker 1>I should say, we have a little bit of a

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<v Speaker 1>a small dose of skepticism here at how stuff works

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<v Speaker 1>about this, but it is kind of a huge deal

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<v Speaker 1>in the sense that traditionally a lot of these agencies

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<v Speaker 1>UM don't have a lot of interdepartmental uh communication between them.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, they're they're actually some pretty uh interesting things

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<v Speaker 1>you can read in history, like the history of the

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<v Speaker 1>FBI or the history of the CIA, where you find

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<v Speaker 1>out that had one agency had the information another agency had,

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<v Speaker 1>than certain things could have been prevented or avoided or

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<v Speaker 1>um or perpetrators could have been caught faster. So it's

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<v Speaker 1>communications a big deal. I mean, how do you facilitate

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<v Speaker 1>communication between different agencies UM that by their very nature,

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<v Speaker 1>are not communicative because it's it's if you're a spy

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<v Speaker 1>and you talk a lot, you're not a very good spy,

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<v Speaker 1>are you. Well, they're they're spending five million dollars according

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<v Speaker 1>to the AP article I read about it, and a

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<v Speaker 1>pilot version is supposed to be going online this December,

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<v Speaker 1>and they're going to be adding more features over the

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<v Speaker 1>coming year. There's no word on whether Scrabulous will be

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<v Speaker 1>part of that, right or your favorite tune playing in

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<v Speaker 1>the background of your profile page, that's true. I bet

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<v Speaker 1>the James Bond theme is really popular. Yeah, yeah, that

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<v Speaker 1>and the man from Uncle Um. But yeah, that you

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<v Speaker 1>you bring up a good point. I mean, James Bond

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<v Speaker 1>is sort of not a good example because you know

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<v Speaker 1>he's out there, you know, some very smartly dressed uh,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, ordering martinis in a way that no one

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<v Speaker 1>else does. Uh. You know, he really stands in here,

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<v Speaker 1>and the bad guys always go, hey, you're James Bond.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean that just doesn't seem to to help you

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<v Speaker 1>stay anonymous. He's not Clandestine's sure, no, not so much.

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<v Speaker 1>That's good to tux though, you know that's true, But

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<v Speaker 1>so it'll be I guess we'll probably never know if

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<v Speaker 1>this is successful or not. At least if you know,

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<v Speaker 1>if it works, we won't know if it doesn't work. Everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>m it's it's. Some people have been kind of describing

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<v Speaker 1>this as sort of MySpace or Facebook for spies. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>Others say that, you know, that's that's probably going a

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<v Speaker 1>little too far. It's more like some sort of spy

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<v Speaker 1>wiki where people can share information and keep each other informed. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>I've got a concern about this particular endeavor. Yeah, it

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<v Speaker 1>turns out that stuff online isn't always safe. I hate that. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>all right, stop it, sit down and hold onto your hats. Um, yeah, it's.

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<v Speaker 1>There are these folks out there called hackers, and there

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<v Speaker 1>are a subset of them called crackers. And crackers like

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<v Speaker 1>to crack security. They like to find ways into places

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<v Speaker 1>they're not supposed to get into. Some of them just

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<v Speaker 1>go in to look around see how things work, and

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<v Speaker 1>you know, they're satisfied once their curiosity is has met,

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<v Speaker 1>and then they leave. U ER's are much more likely

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<v Speaker 1>to mess around once they get in there. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>they'll they'll start looking into secure files and learning information,

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<v Speaker 1>and some of them will even either use that kind

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<v Speaker 1>of ability to sabotage and endeavor or they'll decide to

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<v Speaker 1>steal information sell it to the highest bidder. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>even if you're an independent cracker, that can happen. But

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<v Speaker 1>then think about it, the United States has got a

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<v Speaker 1>few countries that are not that um happy with us.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, it's just true that their their countries out there. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and even your friends often want to know what you're

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<v Speaker 1>really up to. So even someone who might be an

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<v Speaker 1>ally might say, you know, we really would like to

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<v Speaker 1>know what they know. So making an online social network

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<v Speaker 1>for spies, don't you think that would be a huge

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<v Speaker 1>incentive for these people to to try and zero in

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<v Speaker 1>target it and and infiltrate it. Yes, if it's if

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<v Speaker 1>it's real, right, then then it would be a very

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<v Speaker 1>desirable target. Yeah. And if it's not real, it would

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<v Speaker 1>be a very desirable target. Right. So here's uh, here's

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<v Speaker 1>Poulett's pet theory, which you know what sounds better and

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<v Speaker 1>better to me every day. Let's let's go into it.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll let you set it up. It's since you you

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<v Speaker 1>were the first one to talk to me about and

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<v Speaker 1>I was like, wow, that makes so much sense. I

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<v Speaker 1>can't believe that it didn't occur to me. Well, uh,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, in this case, a space might be more

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<v Speaker 1>aptly named bait space. Right, it's the online honey pot Yep,

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<v Speaker 1>it's the cheese on the mouse trap. Can we get

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<v Speaker 1>some more analogies? Thank you, I'm sure we could. But

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<v Speaker 1>if you get what we're saying, uh, it's it may

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<v Speaker 1>be a ruse to try to lure in uh enemies

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<v Speaker 1>of the state, to get them to to break in

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<v Speaker 1>and identify themselves in some way. It's a trap, right, exactly,

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<v Speaker 1>the old admiral at bar it's a trap. Yes, just

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<v Speaker 1>trade sit back to the origin and the and then

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<v Speaker 1>you've got the You've got your enemy of the state.

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<v Speaker 1>Right there you go. It's Um, that's a good theory.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I don't know that that's the case. It

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<v Speaker 1>may very well be this is all on the up

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<v Speaker 1>and up in a clandestine way, but the way sounds yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>because right, And I'm not going to hack into it,

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<v Speaker 1>no I have. I have no desire to get on

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<v Speaker 1>another government list. I hate that, I said another government list.

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<v Speaker 1>We'll let it that out. So, Okay. The interesting thing

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<v Speaker 1>about a space is that it's it's not going to

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<v Speaker 1>appeal to everyone. Even if you could get in, not

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<v Speaker 1>everyone would want to get in. And that's because it

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<v Speaker 1>is one of a growing number of social networks that

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<v Speaker 1>we think of as niche networks right, that cater to

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<v Speaker 1>a very specific audience, like catster, for example, or dogster. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>let's please tell me about catster and dogster. Cat owners

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<v Speaker 1>and dog dog owners or you know a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>them portray themselves. I'm not sure if are playing some

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<v Speaker 1>elaborate cat and mouse game with your computer, but you

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<v Speaker 1>know you got fluffy online, you know, saying well, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I like chasing mice and spending long mornings sleeping in

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<v Speaker 1>the sunlight, eating smelly fish yep, and licking my pause. Good, good, safe.

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<v Speaker 1>But yeah, not everybody's a cat or dog owner, so

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<v Speaker 1>you're not gonna And there are those of us who

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<v Speaker 1>are cat owners and dog owners who go, yeah, I

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<v Speaker 1>really don't need to create a profile from right. Do

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<v Speaker 1>you think do you think that catster has trolls that

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<v Speaker 1>are dogs entirely possible or or rodents you know, or

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know, But there are all kinds of things.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not just for you know. You might think, well,

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<v Speaker 1>that's kind of cute, and a little silly, but there

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<v Speaker 1>are all kinds of other things that that are you know,

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<v Speaker 1>a little more serious. Yeah, I actually I have one

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<v Speaker 1>that's kind of a There a lot that that's been

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<v Speaker 1>off from hobbies. It makes sense, you know, because you

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<v Speaker 1>have things like Facebook and my Space. They often have

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<v Speaker 1>groups where people can form a group and people who

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<v Speaker 1>are interested in the same thing can all kind of

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<v Speaker 1>connect to each other, sort of like the old used

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<v Speaker 1>net groups were back in the days of text, right.

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<v Speaker 1>But it's you know, since it's since it's not geared

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<v Speaker 1>specifically for that hobby, it you have just a sort

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<v Speaker 1>of a limited amount of things that you can do

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<v Speaker 1>on those sites. It just wasn't intended for that. So

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<v Speaker 1>that's why people go out and they'll they'll build a

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<v Speaker 1>niche site. Um one that I thought was really interesting,

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<v Speaker 1>you know what. It's so bizarre that I think this

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<v Speaker 1>is interesting because it's it's a hobby that I don't do.

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<v Speaker 1>I've got many friends who do this hobby, but I

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<v Speaker 1>never thought about picking it up myself. But it just

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<v Speaker 1>it's interesting to me that there's a social network for it.

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<v Speaker 1>It's Ravelry now ravelry that's spelled r A V E

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<v Speaker 1>L r y is an online social network dedicated to knitting,

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<v Speaker 1>really knitting. I was I was convinced it was going

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<v Speaker 1>to be about Maurice Ravel. No, sad, I'm sad to

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<v Speaker 1>to disappoint you there, No, but it's it's knitting. And

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<v Speaker 1>I've got some of friends who knit. We have a

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<v Speaker 1>couple of people here in the office who are fantastic knitters.

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<v Speaker 1>Um and uh nice because I'm just gonna let me

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<v Speaker 1>weave my tail. So but this is a very popular

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<v Speaker 1>social networking site. And only is it popular, they're very

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<v Speaker 1>very careful about who they let in. They want to

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<v Speaker 1>make sure it's people who are really who really are

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<v Speaker 1>enjoy the hobby and will commit, will contribute to the community.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't really want trolls making fun of your hobby,

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<v Speaker 1>and you don't you don't want someone just joining and

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<v Speaker 1>then just quitting because they're they're doing things like trading tips,

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<v Speaker 1>they're trading patterns, they're talking about their projects. So there's

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<v Speaker 1>a waiting list to get on this and and it's

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<v Speaker 1>a long waiting list. It's not and you can you

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<v Speaker 1>can actually submit your emails so that you can find

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<v Speaker 1>out occasionally where you are on the waiting list. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>it's uh, they take it very seriously, and you know

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<v Speaker 1>that might sound silly to someone who's who's not into

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<v Speaker 1>the hobby, but when you think about it, it really

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<v Speaker 1>means that you've built a solid community under you. So

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<v Speaker 1>I actually think that's quite admirable. I mean, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm I'm honestly not making light of ravelry idea. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>they're they're all kinds of different social networks out there,

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<v Speaker 1>and you'll you'll find uh, almost anything, you know, based

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<v Speaker 1>on what your interest is. If you uh, if you

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<v Speaker 1>look around, you'll find something that's related to it. It

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<v Speaker 1>might be a niche group on an existing network like

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<v Speaker 1>high five or work it, or you know, some of

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<v Speaker 1>the others trying to mix in some others besides my

0:11:36.840 --> 0:11:39.040
<v Speaker 1>space and right for our friends and other countries who

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<v Speaker 1>don't use that them so much, um, but you know

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<v Speaker 1>you can. There's even a a news site called mashable

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<v Speaker 1>dot com that really focuses on social networking and social

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<v Speaker 1>networking issues and new kinds of sites and new technologies

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<v Speaker 1>behind it. A lot of sites are are WICKI centric,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, they're not. They're a little less social like

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<v Speaker 1>adding friends, but you do contribute to the greater body

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<v Speaker 1>of knowledge. Um, you know, Wikia dot com has all

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<v Speaker 1>kinds of different wikis that are created by fans of

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<v Speaker 1>TV shows and movies and different uh cultural phenomena that

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<v Speaker 1>that that people like to share bits and pieces of

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<v Speaker 1>trivia with one another and sort of build up something

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<v Speaker 1>because you know, there there may not be an existing

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<v Speaker 1>encyclopedia of knowledge about your favorite TV show, but you know,

0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:32.040
<v Speaker 1>people start going, oh wait, wait remember an episode six,

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<v Speaker 1>And so the fans can really get together and share

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<v Speaker 1>that information with one another, which is which is pretty

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<v Speaker 1>awesome because sometimes uh, you know, you may not have

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<v Speaker 1>your friends at work, or that the people you hang

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<v Speaker 1>out with, um normally may not be into the same

0:12:46.440 --> 0:12:49.040
<v Speaker 1>exact show or the exact same hobby as you. So

0:12:49.080 --> 0:12:51.320
<v Speaker 1>this is this is a good outlet. Yeah. And and

0:12:51.520 --> 0:12:54.400
<v Speaker 1>you can see social networking things popping up from other

0:12:54.480 --> 0:12:57.200
<v Speaker 1>sites that were not originally a social network site, like

0:12:57.280 --> 0:13:01.920
<v Speaker 1>the Internet Movie Database or chud is Cinematic Happenings under Development.

0:13:02.000 --> 0:13:04.480
<v Speaker 1>These are both you know, film sites, um, that have

0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:07.760
<v Speaker 1>had a community grow up around them and um, they've

0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:10.640
<v Speaker 1>really kind of embraced that whole social networking. Uh. Then

0:13:10.679 --> 0:13:14.240
<v Speaker 1>there are other niche sites Chris Parrello just recently launched

0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:16.440
<v Speaker 1>He's a He's a blogger in a television show host.

0:13:16.800 --> 0:13:19.760
<v Speaker 1>He recently launched geeks, which is for people who are

0:13:19.760 --> 0:13:23.040
<v Speaker 1>passionate about certain things, um like mostly tech and things

0:13:23.120 --> 0:13:26.840
<v Speaker 1>like that, but other subjects as well. And uh, my

0:13:26.960 --> 0:13:29.480
<v Speaker 1>favorite new one that I learned about is um Actually

0:13:29.640 --> 0:13:32.360
<v Speaker 1>the network isn't new, it's just new to me. Is

0:13:32.520 --> 0:13:36.520
<v Speaker 1>a small world dot net? Have you heard about this? Okay,

0:13:36.559 --> 0:13:40.480
<v Speaker 1>a small world dot net is for really affluent people.

0:13:41.960 --> 0:13:45.160
<v Speaker 1>It's invitation only. There are three thousand members are so,

0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:47.920
<v Speaker 1>uh to give you an idea of what kind of

0:13:47.920 --> 0:13:51.400
<v Speaker 1>site this is, They're one of their major advertisers that

0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:55.120
<v Speaker 1>puts ads on that site. Cartier. Really yeah, when I'm

0:13:55.160 --> 0:13:58.120
<v Speaker 1>saying affluent, I'm talking big Bucks. So we're talking the

0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:02.440
<v Speaker 1>American Express card holder, right, we we would be considered

0:14:02.480 --> 0:14:07.040
<v Speaker 1>in oka d which is not our kind, dear, that

0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:09.240
<v Speaker 1>would be where we fall in that. I don't think

0:14:09.280 --> 0:14:12.880
<v Speaker 1>I'll be invited into a Small World dot net at all.

0:14:12.920 --> 0:14:14.800
<v Speaker 1>I was gonna say anytime soon, but let's just be

0:14:14.840 --> 0:14:18.560
<v Speaker 1>honest here. Well, I was reading just the other day

0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:23.440
<v Speaker 1>that IBM is actually supporting social networking. It's created a

0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:27.120
<v Speaker 1>center called the IBM Center for Social Software. It's sort

0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:30.600
<v Speaker 1>of a I don't know, an incubator if you will,

0:14:30.680 --> 0:14:35.160
<v Speaker 1>for for social networks and social uh software. And that

0:14:35.280 --> 0:14:38.800
<v Speaker 1>just goes to show you how serious this is becoming.

0:14:39.040 --> 0:14:42.120
<v Speaker 1>And of course you have Google supporting open Social, which

0:14:42.200 --> 0:14:45.000
<v Speaker 1>is the whole idea about having one place to have

0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:47.640
<v Speaker 1>all your your information so that you can lug into

0:14:47.680 --> 0:14:50.960
<v Speaker 1>these different niche social networks without having to create a

0:14:51.000 --> 0:14:55.000
<v Speaker 1>profile every single time, because you might have three or

0:14:55.000 --> 0:14:58.280
<v Speaker 1>four different really strong interests and you want to belong

0:14:58.320 --> 0:15:00.280
<v Speaker 1>to these these different networks. But it does get a

0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:03.120
<v Speaker 1>little frustrating to create a profile all the time, you know,

0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:06.560
<v Speaker 1>over and over and over again. Well, I guess uh,

0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:09.600
<v Speaker 1>we could talk about these all day. There are literally

0:15:09.760 --> 0:15:13.200
<v Speaker 1>thousands of social networking sites on there. Definitely some of

0:15:13.240 --> 0:15:16.160
<v Speaker 1>them are are fully fledged like MySpace and Facebook, and

0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:18.000
<v Speaker 1>others are just sites that happen to have a message

0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:21.920
<v Speaker 1>board or forum or chat room or something like that. Um,

0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:24.200
<v Speaker 1>so rest assured if you have an interest someone out

0:15:24.240 --> 0:15:26.240
<v Speaker 1>there as a social network for you. I think it's

0:15:26.360 --> 0:15:32.080
<v Speaker 1>pretty safe to say. And and although boredom sometimes forces

0:15:32.200 --> 0:15:34.440
<v Speaker 1>us into you know, searching out social networks as we're

0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:36.080
<v Speaker 1>trying to find something to do with our time. Boredom

0:15:36.160 --> 0:15:38.760
<v Speaker 1>can do other things as well. Boredom can cause us

0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:41.400
<v Speaker 1>to search out things like social networking sites and games

0:15:41.400 --> 0:15:44.480
<v Speaker 1>and things like that. But it might actually cause you

0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:49.400
<v Speaker 1>to do something else. Um, I'm sorry, I was not

0:15:49.520 --> 0:15:51.960
<v Speaker 1>paying at Yeah, just kind of dripping off there. Well,

0:15:52.280 --> 0:15:53.880
<v Speaker 1>you might want to You might want to look into

0:15:53.920 --> 0:15:57.600
<v Speaker 1>that because we have a great article on the site

0:15:57.640 --> 0:16:02.240
<v Speaker 1>called Can You Die of Ordom? Written by Kristen Conger,

0:16:02.320 --> 0:16:05.480
<v Speaker 1>one of our colleagues here, and uh, I highly suggest

0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:08.520
<v Speaker 1>you read it because you know your life may depend

0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:11.160
<v Speaker 1>on it. It's nothing if if nothing else, it's something

0:16:11.200 --> 0:16:12.960
<v Speaker 1>you can do when you're bored. That's right. Yeah, if

0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:15.360
<v Speaker 1>you're bored, read that. That'll make you feel better. There

0:16:15.360 --> 0:16:19.040
<v Speaker 1>you go. Awesome. That's live right now on how stuff

0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:23.920
<v Speaker 1>works dot com. Let us know what you think. Send

0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:31.520
<v Speaker 1>an email to podcasts at how stuff works dot com.

0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:34.240
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0:16:34.560 --> 0:16:35.800
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