Faecbook versus Livejournal

Last week, siderea presented perspective on LJ versus facebook that generated some interesting discussion. This morning, I realized how I internally differentiate the two forums: LJ is more expository, Facebook is more conversational. Allow me to elaborate.

Facebook has what it refers to as "the wall" on which you can post comments and musings. The "feel" of the site tends to lend itself to the type of conversation that might arise at a cocktail party. This is a situation in which everyone knows who you are and anyone could be listening in on the discussion. For more intimate (in the social, sense) discussion, you can post those thoughts on another person's wall. As the name implies, wall-discussions are public, although you can send private messages directly to another person through the Inbox (Facebook-specific "mail"). Moreover, the small window provided for the wall seems to encourage brief musings, with little room for more than a couple of paragraphs. As a result, postings tend to be either briefly informative (speaking to the room) or brief forays into encouraging public discussion. Brevity is key, with little room to expound or wax poetic on a topic. The social nature of the system sets up a situation where social capital is important so what is written and how people respond serve not only to exchange information, but to set up a social exchange that resonates within the community you have built.

LJ, at least for me, feels more like a lecture hall. Many build a persona, providing a feel of protective distance between themselves and their audience. And it is an audience to which discussion is directed. The site has more of a feel of a person striding to the front of the room and stepping behind the lectern (in the case of more formal styles) or casually sitting on a desk (for a casual styles) to address a crowd of people who have chosen to attend you talk (by friending you) or who may be passing through (as in the case of lurkers). The interface seems to encourage long posts, through mechanisms such as the LJ cut. The relative anonymity of the audience members provides the opportunity for being somewhat more critical. The respondent can be less concerned with losing social capital; they can, after all, simply create a new account with a new persona if they wish.

In the end, I see both systems to be complementary, serving different functions. Facebook is the "going out for drinks after work"-type place where things are kept light and an attempt is made to feel enclosed in a warm (for the internet) environment. This is not the place for discussion on topics that are "too heavy", so to speak. LJ is the place to make a statement to the world; present your theories, tell your stories, create (as I do) the equivalent of a PowerPoint presentation of interesting things. As a result, it is the preferred location for those of us with a bent for lecturing.

In my brief foray into Facebook, I have found that it is a great place to meet people and keep tabs on those with whom I had previously lost contact. On the other hand, LJ is where I find the most interesting and engaging discussion, the types of things that encourage deep thought, discussion, and occasional argument. I may also be biased by having a friends list composed of intelligent and creative people.

Tech post for 21-October-2007

Among the stories in today's post: extra time dimensions, keeping our troops cool, sticky brain chemicals, volcanoes on Mars, nanotech solar cells, phantom phone buzz, the genetics of supermuscles and mental resilience.

Suggested by ancalagon_tb

A Two-Time Universe? Physicist Explores How Second Dimension of Time Could Unify Physics Laws - USC College theoretical physicist Itzhak Bars has pioneered efforts to discern how a second dimension of time could help physicists better explain the laws of nature. With two times, Bars believes, many of the mysteries of today’s laws of physics may disappear. Of course, it’s not as simple as that. An extra dimension of time is not enough. You also need an additional dimension of space.

National Research Council of Canada - News Highlights

Troops beat the heat in Kandahar - No matter what their views on the war in Afghanistan, Canadians agree that protecting the health and wellness of troops overseas is a top priority. The crews of Canada's Leopard tanks in Kandahar got some relief from the searing desert heat this summer thanks to cooling vests that were tested in a giant oven at NRC.

National Geographic News

Mussels' Mighty Grip Inspires Dopamine-Based Glue - The uncanny stickiness of mussels has inspired a brainy new approach to creating a universal adhesive coating, researchers say. Mussels secrete a complex cocktail of proteins to latch on to just about any surface, explained study co-author Phillip Messersmith, a biomedical engineer at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Messersmith and colleagues found that the two most prominent ingredients in this cocktail are the same as those in dopamine, a chemical messenger in the brain.

SPACE.com

Martian Volcanoes May Not be Extinct - New research on Hawaiian volcanoes, combined with satellite imagery of Mars, suggests that three Martian volcanoes may only be dormant—not extinct. Instead of Mars' crust moving over stationary magma "hot spots," as occurs on Earth, researchers think the plumes travel.

Physics Org

First Analysis of the Water Requirements of a Hydrogen Economy - One of the touted benefits of the futuristic US hydrogen economy is that the hydrogen supply—in the form of water—is virtually limitless. This assumption is taken for granted so much that no major study has fully considered just how much water a sustainable hydrogen economy would need.

Technology Review Feed

Microscopic Solar Cells - Researchers at Harvard University have made solar cells that are a small fraction of the width of a human hair. The cells, each made from a single nanowire just 300 nanometers wide, could be useful for powering tiny sensors or robots for environmental monitoring or military applications. What's more, the basic design of the solar cells could be useful in large-scale power production, potentially lowering the cost of generating electricity from the sun.

Mimicking the Massively Muscular - Scattered throughout the mammalian menagerie are a few supermuscular freaks: double-muscled cows more ripped than any bodybuilder; racing dogs too burly to run; sheep praised for their massively muscled buttocks; and even one small German boy, born in 2000 with muscles twice the size of those of a normal newborn. All these Herculean creatures share one thing: naturally occurring mutations in a gene that produces myostatin, a protein that blocks growth of skeletal muscle. Disable that gene, and viola--spectacular muscle growth results.

BBC News

Ships' CO2 'twice that of planes' - Global emissions of carbon dioxide from shipping are twice the level of aviation, one of the maritime industry's key bodies has said.

Key to mental 'resilience' found - US scientists have pinpointed a difference in brain chemistry which may explain why some people cope better than others in the face of adversity. They found a key pathway in mice differs in those who cope well with stress, and those who do not. In the mice who did not cope well with stress, nerve cells fired signals at a faster rate in two areas of the brain associated with pleasure and reward, releasing a substance called BDNF, which has previously been linked to poor coping. Blocking BDNF in the timid mice caused them to become more resistant to stress.

ABC News: Technology & Science

'Phantom' Phone Buzz Making You Crazy? - Neurologists say "phantom" BlackBerry and cell phone sensations could represent your brain's attempts to treat these gadgets as body parts.