Student research opportunities
Consumer-Oriented Social Media
Project Code: CECS_854
This project is available at the following levels:
CS single semester, Engn4200, Summer Scholar, Masters
Supervisor:
Dr Roger ClarkeOutline:
Social media such as Facebook, Google+ and Twitter exploit consumers. Some are also designed as 'islands' or 'walled gardens', with the content accessible within a single service rather than on the open Web. Social media should be designed to suit the needs of consumers rather than corporations.
Goals of this project
Possible software engineering projects include architecture for consumer-oriented social media for both client-server and P2P environments, and delivery of open-source code-segments, a test-harness, and demo apps.
Information systems projects are needed to complement software engineering contributions including the identification of consumer-hostile aspects of existing services, descriptions of consumers' needs, prioritisation of social media features, and the expression of requirements in implementable form.
All such projects would of course need to reflect previous work in the area, in particular the Diaspora Project, and either extend that facility or critique it and develop an alternative to it.
Links
Slide-setFacebook's trail of consumer exploitation
Clarke R. (2012) 'Privacy as a Strategic Factor in Social Media: An Analysis Based on the Concepts of Trust and Distrust' Working Paper, Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd, April 2012
The Diaspora Project
Wikipedia on the Disapora Project
