** My Intellectual Flakes **

Fred Stutzman differentiated two types of social network sites: one as ego-centric (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn), the other as object-centric (e.g. Flickr). The basis for the ego-centric social network is the individual-centered social network; the basis for the object-centric social network is mostly the artifact or product.

Terry Anderson argues that

perhaps the best ESS (Educational social software) combines ego and object centric features allowing learners and teachers to build on both types through social exchange of their artifacts and their personalities.

Further, Terry adds on another category of social network sites specific to the educational context: adhoc transient communities, that is, communities with fluid memberships. For adult learners in the self-paced study, a stable community is very difficult to take shape due to their unsynchronized learning progress. In this circumstances, learners need to be in and out different sub-communities based on their needs.

Reflecting back on the blog community I intend to build in my study. I wonder what type it should belong to.  It’s a mixture of both ego and object-centric. Students had interact in the blogosphere because 1) they know and care about each other; 2) they are engaged in the same practice and the content of blog is close to their heart. But I don’t want this blog-supported community to be transient. The ideal situation might be that students cultivate the habit of blogging, sharing and reflecting through this project so that they can continue blogging even after the project ends.