Yesterday, I was thinking on the bus and wondering if anyone had thought of an addon that lets people manage and visualize their social networks. I was mostly thinking about this in terms of my research. Like it might be nice to include a network map of me and the people I hang out with and contrast it to maybe the map of some of the participants in my study or of other researchers I know (like Shawna Kelly) who have had completely different leveling and raiding experiences. But I was also thinking about addons as a way to manage or reduce cognitive load or help people understand through models how the world works. Could a better understanding through visualization of social networks help players manage their social relationships?
Anyway, coincidentally, there’s a post on GameSetWatch about MMOs and Web 2.0 convergence. Not exactly what I was getting at, but still, thought I’d throw it out there…