Research on Social Media Past, Present and Future: A Case Study

Abstract

Social Computing is historically rooted in the concept of the 1940s Bush’s Memex; which also led to the advent of hypertext and consequently the World Wide Web. The journey from the 1940s to the present, where social computing is all-encompassing and pervasive, has seen a global shift in our perspective. It has moved from recognizing initially that computers can be used for communication, not just computation to text-based social interactions (bulletin board systems, Usenet, Internet Relay Chat, MUD games) and further to dynamic social interactions with content generation, feedback and more advanced HCI mediums. Research in this field is far and wide as it belongs to several theoretical disciplines, uses various technological infrastructures and has innumerable applications. To name a few areas where social computing is used – creation of Web 2.0 and tools, Entertainment software, Business sector and Forecasting. The thrust is essentially moving towards social intelligence now. The aim of this chapter is to understand the foundation of Social Computing; the present direction and to earmark possible research areas in the future.