Beyond Bowling Together: SocioTechnical Capital

A new theoretical construct, SocioTechnical Capital, provides a framework for generating and evaluating technology-mediated social relations and needs to be found to generate even more social capital than bowling together does.

Abstract

Social resources like trust and shared identity make it easier for people to work and play together. Such social resources are sometimes referred to as social capital. Thirty years ago, Americans built social capital as a side effect of participation in civic organizations and social activities, including bowling leagues. Today, they do so far less frequently (Putnam 2000). HCI researchers and practitioners need to find new ways for people to interact that will generate even more social capital than bowling together does. A new theoretical construct, SocioTechnical Capital, provides a framework for generating and evaluating technology-mediated social relations.