I guess I qualitfy as a social software developer since some of the software I write and dream about helps people communicate with and inform each other.  As an engineer, I am drawn to social software.  Social software's potential for changing people's lives is exciting.  Its relative unexplored nature, like the wild wild west, is also exciting.  I believe social software will achieve its technical goals, allowing people to form new social structures online.

Still, I have misgivings about whether the social software's broader goal to improve human societies will be met.  Even worse, I fear the opposite.  Social software could fragment human societies into clusters with sharply contrasting views of reality.  My fear stems from my observation of Korean society.

Korea is emerging as one of the most advanced Internet nation in the world.  Young Koreans, in particular, live and breath Internet, each belonging to large number of online communities.  One would expect them to be well informed and objective, yet they are not.  Their views are warped and often radical.  While all the world's information is at their fingertip, they consume information subjectively and produce misinformation biased by their views.  Adding highly effective social software to this is frightening to me.

When I was last in Korea, a close friend of mine told me he was thinking about sending his six-year old daughter to schools in the US.  I was shocked.  How could he think this way?  He said he initially thought the idea ridiculous, but he changed his mind after talking with people he knew, people who are just as well-to-do as his family.  Apparently, they are all thinking the same thing and this warped his common sense.

In a sense, social clusters form gravity wells which has its own local physical laws and is difficult to escape from.  Social softwares make it easier to create and grow such clusters.  There is nothing intrinsically good or bad about social software.  Like a gun, its just a tool.  Only problem is that this gun can put holes in our societies, holes like Al-Queda.  Does this mean I am against social software?  No.  I don't think development of social software can be stopped. 

What I do want my fellow social software developers to do is to think about negative impacts of social software and try to come up with mechanisms that could minimize that threat.

At this year's Korean college festivals, students ran out of cups so they made one out of a banana and it became an instant hit.  Their drink of choice: Soju.

Soju

Soju was first introduced to Korea by the Mongolian invaders in the 13th century (since they were nice enough to bring the booze, I forgive their invasion).  Its cheap and got a kick like a mule.  Tastewise, lets just say its memorable and habit forming like a distilled form of hard suffering.  Soju is the People's Drink in Korea.  Proper way to drink it is to gulp in down, cringe like somebody just hit you hard in the stomach, and say "KKkkkkkkkk!"  Do that in front of Koreans and they'll treat you like a brother.

Technical Details: Soju is a distilled hard liquor made from grain or potatoes. It is clear and has a high alcoholic content. Traditionally, soju is made from glutinous rice or regular rice. Rice is washed, cleaned and steamed. Then, it is cooled with cold water. "Nuruk" or mashed and fermented glutinous rice, is added to the steamed rice, stirred well, and kept about one week. When it is fermented, it is put into a cauldron over a fire. When it is boiled, the distilled alcohol forms on the surface of the vessel filled with cold water, which is soju.