11. Social Computing Value

Social computing is a general methodology that applies human interests, ingenuity, and analysis to a range of business problems that are not practical or possible to solve with raw machine computational power. The element of “computation” here is the process of how people discover, consider, interpret, and communicate ideas through various means. These are not formulaic processes; each person brings his or her own unique history, expertise, and personality when working on the problem. This element of creativity separates social computing from mathematical and analytical models possible through software code and algorithms. Yet social computing still requires a software-assisted medium that works through online environments to allow people to interact across distances. It is particularly helpful when working across multiple organizational departments, companies, or job roles. It can apply to different scenarios within a single enterprise, between a business and its customers, between shareholders and the public directly, or even when engaging customers at other popular online venues.

It is considered social because the information can be segmented, shared, distributed, or recombined across the efforts of many individuals. For social computing to work, most often the people involved need to see each other’s contributions. In other cases, this information is aggregated from many individual sources into larger or more complex packages to deliver to others. This is also social because of the relationships and trust bonds that form between people while working on such problems.