Social Computing

Broadly speaking, social computing encapsulates the idea of making technologies more aware of, and more in alignment with, the social needs of their users. This allows for the introduction of new modes of communication and collaboration among users, the ability to establish and grow communities of various constitutions, as well as for more dynamic and large-scale content creation, dissemination, and evaluation. This chapter serves the ternary purpose of establishing a broad definition of social computing as it stands today and as it is expected to evolve in the near future, providing an overview of the practical applications of social computing, and examining the present and historic research themes that have made an impression on social computing as an area of academic intrigue. The chapter is intended to be accessible to casual readers, practitioners, and academicians alike, with little technical depth and broad focus throughout, for the purpose of establishing an initial acquaintance with the field.