March 1, 2008 (Vol. 28, No. 5)
URL:
http://www.foaf-project.org/
Rating:
Strong Points: Connections
Weak Points: Too techie at present
Summary:
Everyone has a friend of a friend through whom they have learned important things, though that is also the source of many of the urban legends that are out there, I’m sure. It is because of this that I had a bit of a trepidation in covering the site, but it turned out to be different from what I expected. Friend of a Friend aims not only to put people together, but also to allow them to share information about each other and their activities. Yes, this is a social networking site of a sort (with blogs) and I see potential in it to develop scientific social networks that might be of considerable benefit. Access is easy, though finding info about the site is not so easy. Would it be so hard to write in plain English what the site does? For example, the Introduction page, which describes how the system is set up, is a propeller-heads dream and a user’s nightmare. Is it worth a try? I’d say wait, for now, but check it out in a few months.
