在MySpace和Facebook等社交網站成為Web 2.0的新寵之前很久,工程師們就已經開始在Usenet或Newsgroups新聞組上,通過互聯網探討問題并相互幫助。他們經常把文件上傳到FTP上,與其他工程師共享。
就像十幾歲的年輕人喜歡在MySpace上獲取聲望、財富和友誼一樣,工程師們喜歡在互聯網上結識同行并獲取同行們的認可。和其他人一樣,他們也渴望在能夠展示自己才能的地方獲得關注。
不過工程師們喜歡訪問的網站,通常是由科技公司自己主辦的用戶社區(qū)網站。工程師們在這些網站上更多的是進行 “計算機社交”,而非“網絡社交”。
兩者的差別暫且不談,但它們之間的共性卻都是讓人欲罷不能。對此問題,維基百科的共同創(chuàng)始人Jimmy Wales曾經寫道:“維基百科的關鍵就在于它充滿樂趣,讓人上癮?！?/p>
更重要的是,它提供了一個可以讓人獨處、同時又具備社交特性的場所。
在《紐約書評》最近的一篇文章中,Nicholson Baker描述了這樣一種現象: “所有互聯網行業(yè)的卓越成就 —— 例如電子郵件、AOL聊天、Facebook、Gawker、Second Life、YouTube、Daily Kos、魔獸世界等 —— 或多或少都具備一些讓人上癮的因素；它們之所以能夠讓用戶樂此不疲,都是因為具備這種以獨處的方式進行社交的特性: 用戶不斷地登錄、不斷地查看信息,就好比你試圖睡覺時,卻想參加樓下舉行的熱鬧聚會一樣?！?/p>
The MathWorks作為科學計算和基于模型設計的領先軟件供應商,見證了在其用戶社區(qū)中出現的一場巨大變革。 MathWorks用戶社區(qū)的負責人Ned Gulley提起了過去兩年中發(fā)生的“巨變” ——Matlab站點的訪問人數每年增加一倍。
The MathWorks成立于1984年,從20世紀90年代初就主辦了一個名為Matlab Central的用戶社區(qū)。如Ned Gulley所說,公司“并非從零開始”。 但其FTP站點的文件從最初的幾百個已經增長到了7500個。用戶每天會向Matlab的文件交換區(qū)增加7到8個文件。 公司的新聞組也會不斷收到新的問題,提出進行文件交換。
根據The MathWorks公司提供的報告,公司起初建立了一個可容納100萬用戶的Matlab計算語言社區(qū),實際每月吸引約400,000名用戶。
雖然The MathWorks公司會不斷維護自己主辦的社區(qū),但正如Gulley說過的一樣:“客戶為網站帶來的資源要遠遠多于公司本身,從某種角度來說,他們才是網站的主辦者。” PicScout公司(一家視覺內容監(jiān)測供應商)的研發(fā)副總裁Yair Altman是個活躍的Matlab用戶。他居住在以色列,第一次來到The MathWorks的用戶社區(qū)時,認為這只是一個在線幫助網站。 之后卻很快發(fā)現,這個論壇可以提供比預想中更多的東西。
Matlab社區(qū)由兩部分組成:論壇和文件交換區(qū)。Altman認為Matlab論壇對他來說非常重要,因為他在這里能比在Google更快、更有效地搜索到與The MathWorks相關的問題的答案。
Altman說:“如果用戶在微軟的封閉軟件包中發(fā)現了一個bug,然后發(fā)郵件給它的服務團隊,那簡直就是遙不可及。而在Matlab社區(qū),用戶可與使用The MathWorks的用戶直接對話并得到回應?！?/p>
這讓人上癮。 即使在Altman忙得不可開交的時候,他每天仍然忍不住要登陸Matlab社區(qū),查看新帖。 他還向Matlab的文件交換區(qū)提交過程序。 他說:“在我獲得正面評價時,會感到非常地自豪, 而同行們給出的負面評價則會讓自己懊惱。我會對自己說,‘這是一個完美的程序! 為什么他們不接受？’”但通常這種經歷只會激勵他提交更多的修改程序。
通過展示最佳編程法,工程師們找到了一個釋放專業(yè)自豪感的出口。 而類似于Matlab的社區(qū)網站也“為實習工程師們搭建了一個平臺”,Gulley說: “一名年輕的工程師通常需要在一位資深工程師的帶領下,學習最佳的編程方法?！?/p>
“類似于Matlab這樣的社區(qū)論壇,可以為經驗豐富的工程師們提供一個平臺,結識‘新工程師’,并幫助他們成長,”他補充道。
John D'Errico是一名Matlab用戶,他在Kodak公司做了29年的數學家,2年半前退休。 D'Errico非常熟悉Matlab,但在退休前總是缺少時間和精力參與到其中。
現在他有了自己的時間,每天清晨4:30起床,之后至少從Matlab的文件交換區(qū)上下載一個文件。 D'Errico是評論組中的一員,他翻來覆去地研究那些程序文件,查找錯誤,確定它是否符合標準。 然后寫一份詳細的評論文章,發(fā)布在文件交換區(qū)上。 D'Errico被看作是Matlab社區(qū)中最有魅力的導師之一。
“在我開始做出長篇的、實質性和建設性的評論前,Matlab社區(qū)上的大多數評論都只是三言兩語,沒有任何建設性意義。 之后,我看到其他一些人也開始為此付諸努力。 有人做出建設性工作、為其他人提供反饋時,就可以提高所有來訪者的水平。”
D'Errico補充道:“提供指導有多種方式: 回答問題、為所提交的代碼提供評論是最常見的兩種方式。 第三種就是提交自己的代碼。 通過這種方式,可以讓其他人看到自己的作品,有時還會仿效你的作品。 ”
“我們從在外部世界中看到的以及自己的錯誤中汲取經驗。 如果自身的知識和經驗僅來源于隨機的錯誤和成功,會讓自己花費很長的時間才能取得進步?！?/p>
Gulley表示,對于社交網站,絕不要低估“人們對做出貢獻的需要” 。 人們希望貢獻自己的知識與經驗,獲得別人的欣賞和尊重。這也是維基百科之所以能興盛的原因之一。
在公司里,網絡社交會與一些潛在的商業(yè)觀念產生沖突。 D'Errico說,在他將代碼提交到Matlab社區(qū)的文件交換區(qū)之前,如果想鉆公司的空子,Kodak是不會讓他輕易成功的。 他說,這種努力“不是一般地麻煩?！?/p>
D'Errico說,如果哪個員工想寫些新程序,首先一個問題就是: “我們是不是應該對此擁有專利？”
PicScout公司的Altman并不把專利問題看作是涉足Matlab的一種阻礙,在很大程度上是由于別人所提交的代碼“與自己所做的工作并沒有任何直接關系。” D'Ericco對此保持樂觀態(tài)度。 隨著年輕一代網絡社交愛好者進入工程師圈子,公司對于專利問題的擔憂也許會有所降低。 “僅僅需要一小部分人”就可以徹底改變局面,D'Ericco說道,“各家公司都會鼓勵員工更頻繁地公開他們的代碼,與外部世界分享資料。”
如果計算機社交已經在工程師的圈子中過時,那如何解釋最近在用戶社區(qū)中出現的流量猛增現象？ 無需再左顧右盼,看看近幾年來消費者在線購買行為的變化就足以說明問題。Gulley說: “如果今天你想買一個數字便攜攝像機,毫無疑問,你一定知道應該去哪一個網站。 那一定是一個你非常信任的網站,你可以在其上比較型號和價格,并最終購買一個理想中的機型 。消費者們知道,他們不需要去憐憫銷售商?！?/p>
這與工程領域相似。 如果一名工程師被要求開發(fā)新軟件,他并不需要重新溫習大學課本并開始重新書寫代碼,而是會想到,“在某個地方一定有類似的程序。 我并不需要重新開始,”Gulley解釋說道。
正如在Matlab社區(qū)中常見的問題,經常會有人質問: “你是想要我們來幫你完成工作么？”簡而言之,論壇也有它自身的禮節(jié)。 “你不可以簡單地說,‘請完成以下工作’,然后期望別人把東西喂給你,”Gulley說。
Matlab社區(qū)是一種“網絡社交”嗎？ Gulley認為它更像是一種“計算機社交”,不過用戶的體驗正在使兩者之間的界線逐漸模糊。
D'Errico說道:“有些人我會經常和他們溝通,和他們一起我會覺得很開心,我愿意把這些人稱為‘朋友’。在論壇上幫助過許多人后,我也會收到類似這樣的信息,‘如果你到城里來,我愿意請你喝啤酒?！薄?可惜的是,D'Errico很少有機會再出差,自然也沒有機會喝到這樣的啤酒。
翻頁查看英文原文:
Long before social networks such as MySpace and Facebook became the darlings of Web 2.0, engineers were active in Usenet or Newsgroups, asking questions and helping one another via the Internet. They routinely uploaded files on FTP sites to share with engineers.
Just as teenagers crave fame, fortune and friendship on MySpace, engineers also seek recognition and camaraderie among their peers on the Internet. Like anyone, they long for an audience where they can strut their stuff.
The preferred Internet hangouts for engineers, though, are user communities, often hosted by technology companies. What they do there may be better described as "social computing" rather than "social networking."
Differences aside, the common denominator of "social computing" and "social networking" is that it's hard to stop. In that vein, Wikipedia's co-founder Jimmy Wales once wrote: "The main thing about Wikipedia is that it is fun and addictive."
More importantly, it offers a place to be solitary and yet social.
In a recent article in The New York Review of Books, Nicholson Baker described the phenomenon: "All big Internet successes--e-mail, AOL chat, Facebook, Gawker, Second Life, YouTube, Daily Kos, World of Warcraft--have a more or less addictive component; they hook you because they are solitary ways to be social: you keep checking in, peeking in, as you would to some noisy party going on downstairs in a house while you're trying to sleep."
MathWorks, a leading software provider for technical computing and model-based design, is witnessing a huge surge in activity in its online user communities. Ned Gulley, a leader for MathWork's user community, cited "a sea change" in the last two years, with the number of visitors to the Matlab site doubling on an annual basis.
Founded in 1984, Mathworks has been hosting a user community called Matlab Central since the early 1990's. As Gulley acknowledged, the company "didn't start from zero." But a few hundred files originally on its FTP site have grown to 7,500. Users add seven to eight new files every day to Matlab's file exchange. Its news group receives new questions constantly, prompting threads of exchanges.
Matlab, originally created to house a community of nearly 1 million users of the computing language of the same name, attracts nearly 400,000 users a month, according to the company.
While MathWorks maintains its storefront, it is "customers, not the company, hosting the site, who bring materials to the Web site," said Gulley. Yair Altman, vice president of R&D at PicScout, a visual content monitoring provider, is an active Matlab user. Altman, based in Israel, first came to MathWork's user community thinking it was an online help site. He quickly found out that the forum offers much more.
Matlab consists of two components: "Forum and "File exchange." Altman calls Matlab's forum "by far the most important" because he finds answers there to questions related to MathWorks "faster and more useful than Google."
"If you find a bug in Microsoft's closed software package, you send an e-mail to its support team. That's as far as you go." With Matlab, "you get direct dialog and responses from people who have been actually using MathWorks," Altman said.
It's addictive. Even when he's swamped, Altman can't help but look up new posts each day. He also submits programs to Matlab's File exchange. "When I get good reviews, I am quite proud of it," he said. Poor reviews from peers elicit the opposite response. "I say to myself, 'That was a perfect submission! Why don't they get it?'" The exercise only motivates him to submit more revisions.
By showing the best practices for programming, engineers find an outlet for their professional pride. Further, Web sites like Matlab are "building scaffolding for engineering apprenticeship," observed Gulley. A young engineer needs to sit next to a senior person to learn best practices in programming, he said.
Forums like Matlab "can provide a structure for experienced engineers to meet [new engineers] and help them grow," he added.
John D'Errico, a Kodak mathematician for 29 years who retired two and a half years ago, is an Matlab user. D'Errico was very familiar with Matlab, but lacked the time and energy to participate prior to his retirement.
Now he does, rising at 4:30 a.m. and downloading at least one file a day from Matlab's file exchange. A member of its review team, D'Errico tears apart the file, checks for errors and checks to see if it conforms to standards. He then writes a detailed review and posts comments on the file exchange. D'Errico is considered one of Matlab's most engaging mentors.
"Before I started the long, substantial, constructive reviews, most of the reviews [on Matlab] were single sentences, and not constructive. Afterwards, I saw a few others making a bit more of an effort.
"When you have a visible individual who acts constructively, providing feedback to the rest, this can raise the level of all those who visit the area."
D'Errico added, "Mentoring has a variety of forms: answering questions, providing reviews of submitted code are two such forms. A third is submitting one's own code. Here, the rest can see your own work, often emulating what they see.
"We learn by what we see in the outside world as well as from our own mistakes. If our own learning came only from our own random mistakes and successes, it may take a long time to evolve."
As for social networks, never underestimate "human needs to contribute," said Gulley. People want to contribute, to be appreciated and to be respected. How else to explain Wikipedia's boom?
In the corporate world, social networking can clash with the the commercial potential of an idea. D'Errico said Kodak didn't make it easy when he sought corporate clearance before submitting his code to Matlab's file exchange. The effort, he said, "was a pain in the butt."
If an employee wants to write something new, D'Errico, said, the first question is: "Should we patent this first?"
PicScout's Altman doesn't see patent issues as a hindrance to Matlab involvement, largely because code he submits rarely has any "direct relation to the job I do." D'Ericco remains hopeful. Corporate patent anxiety might subside as a generation of young social networkers enter the engineering workforce. It could take "only a few people in a corporation," said D'Ericco, to swing the pendulum. "Corporations could encourage their employees to publish their code and share stuff with the outside world more often."
But if social computing is old hat among engineers, how to explain the recent burst in traffic among user communities? Look no further than the change in consumers' online behavior in the last few years, said Gulley. "If you want to buy a digital camcorder today, without question you already know a Web site you can go to. That's a site you trust, where you can compare models and prices and ultimately even purchase a model you want," he said. "Consumers know they are no longer at the mercy of vendors."
There is a direct parallel to what's happening in engineering. If an engineer is asked to develop a new piece of software, instead of dusting off his college books and starting to write code from scratch, he just thinks, "This has to exist somewhere. I refuse to do it myself," explained Gulley.
As seen in many Matlab threads, a common jab is: "Are you asking us to do your homework?" In short, the forum has a system of etiquette. "You can't just say, 'Please do the following' and expect to get spoon-fed," Gulley said.
Is Matlab considered a "social network"? Gulley believes it's still more like "social computing," but the experiences of many users might be blurring that line in a positive way.
D'Errico said, "There are a couple people with whom I communicate so oftenI feel comfortable calling them 'friends.'" After helping many on the forum, "I do get messages like, 'if you are ever in town, I'll treat you a beer,'" he said. Unfortunately, D'Errico, who no longer travels that often, has yet to sip that first beer.
