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27 Sep 2003
Communication is not Content
Clay Shirky started an interesting thread about communication and content. He argues that once people are communicating with each other, it is not content. This seems to be a very good definition. Thus people who enter their profile on a Social Network Site, are doing this in order to communicate. I do think that this more like an advertisement and thus is some kind of content. The more profiles there are on a dating site, the better the site.
The commenters to his post argue that there exists a grey line between communication and content. The question where does this line lie? Clay Shirky sees the line at the point where people are no longer communicating with each other. Thus it comes down on the definition of communication. For me this is about two way traffic, but which can also be initiated by either party.
Thus posting something in a weblog is publishing, but commenting on it is communication. Or isn’t it? You could call a post in a weblog, the start of communication. Maybe it depends on the lurkers. If a lot of people read a post, but do not react, it is publishing. Once people start reacting and other people just read the communication (lurk), one might call it communication.
The problem lies with person-to-person communication, which is much easier defined and person-to-many communication. There always will be grey area.
I do however agree that defining dating sites as publishers is silly. It is a special category of services.