The goal of the new Intel Science and Technology Center for Social Computing is bring/establish the engagement of social science and technology practice.
Social Computing is the study of information technology(including digital media) as a cultural and social phenomenon i.e using social and cultural norms to understand computing. Technology affects and shapes our lives in more ways compared to earlier years and with each passing day we become more dependent on technology. With that in mind we need to think from a social stand point instead previous stand points including the Human Computer Interaction(HCI) model where user interface is the central concern and the Experience-Based computing(EBC) which considered the user experience to be the central concern. Social computing complements both HCI and EBC.
Intel put together a research team comprising of academics from a vast array of disciplines which is co-lead by Paul Dourish(Professor of Informatics, UC Irvine) and Scott Mainwaring(Senior Research Scientist, Intel Labs). They propose to:
(a) Consider information as grounded in materials
(b) Look at people as subjects of technology systems
(c) consider how we relate to each other in, around and through data
(d) Consider how users use digital tools to engage with others to make changes to the world
(e) Look at data and the algorithms that propel, aggregate, visualise and process the data.
I agree with the idea because as the world keeps evolving and new devices and technologies are developed, humans will become more and more entangled with technology and there is a need to understand how to control and effectively use this to our advantage.
Find below a link to the Intel ISTC white paper:
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