The Specialist, 2.0 March 26, 2007
Posted by Minerva in Web2.0, education, library school.trackback
Wow, that was quick. The School of Information at the University of Michigan has a new specialization for its master’s program: social computing.
Students pursuing a specialization in Social Computing learn to analyze online social interactions, both in online communities and in more diffuse social networks. They learn about features of social computing technologies so they can recognize opportunities to put them to use in new settings and make good choices about alternative implementations.
Social Computing specialists will be highly qualified to step into positions such as these:
- Online community manager
- Product manager
- Social network analyst
- Community organizer
- Management consultant
- User experience analyst
- e-Marketing associate
Like Heidi Go Seek, I question whether a specialization is really needed here. Surely a few classes would suffice, especially in an area as constantly changing as this one.
Specializations, and the degrees they supposedly enhance, should have a semblance of permanence. The same need not be said of individual courses. A MySpace class can be thrown together (figuratively speaking) and offered until it loses its relevance, a few semesters at the most. A specialization should endure, perhaps not forever, but long enough for there to be several cohorts. We shall see what becomes of this experiment.
Via Library Stuff
Yes, exactly what I was thinking! Only you say it much better than I do. Oh well, I guess in the long run our education is what we make of it too.
By the way, this is the first time I’ve visited your site, I enjoyed reading some of your other posts too.
Thank, Heidi. I was also concerned that, in the press release at least, the term “Web 2.0″ was used. I think the term further goes to dating the program and limiting its potential.
Thanks for the compliment. I was glad to find your blog through Library Stuff.