Scrapbooking: Principles For Social Tools

In a recent post (see How Will Twitter Be Governed?), I pondered the potential for conflict between the aspirations of social tool developers and the communities using those tools. I have started to think about a set of principles for social tools that might somehow serve as a foundation for this.

So I have been eagerly looking for others’ thoughts on this subject, and when I saw something related at Kashklash.net, it caught my eye:

[via kashklash:: exchanging the future » Blog Archive » Principles for a digital social enterprise by Franco Papeschi & Tory Dunn]

To invite further discussion, we are posting below the initial

thinking we have done on a set of principles and guidelines to support

the formation of ethical / sustainable social enterprise services.

(With contributions from Heather, Irene and Mark..thanks!)

1. Does the initiative help people use time to their best advantage?



2. Does it strengthen relationships between people?



3. Does it have a clear socially* beneficial mission (or in the
   
   absence of clarity, a positive trajectory in a socially beneficial
   
   direction)?



4. Does it produce more for a community/society/environment than it
   
   takes, including balance of profit distribution v. social reinvestment?



5. Is the initiative and its outcome sustainable in the long term?



6. Are the workings transparent, including products, processes,
   
   consequences? Are there processes in place to protect and steward the
   
   socially beneficial intent and outcomes?



7. Is it at least neutral for people who don’t use it? (i.e. doesn’t permanently reduce resources for non-users)



8. Is the result of any accumulation process socially positive?



9. Does it reduce barriers to access? Does it make things easier? Is it accessible in the broad sense of the word?



10. Is there no unjustified and/or artificial barrier to entry or exit?



11. Does it respect human rights and the culture it is in? (Although
    
    these may be in opposition, in which case, we believe, human rights
    
    should prevail.) Does it value diversity?



12. Does it build and substantiate trust and collaboration?



13. Does it foster socially positive, sustainable use of the data/information it generates?



14. Does it provide/use a means of value exchange that is appropriate to the context?

Further elements to be considered include:

1. Does it leverage and / or facilitate local ownership and economic development?


2. Is it scalable?


3. Is it applicable in different contexts/sectors?


4. Is it culturally adaptable?


5. Does if follow best practice in user-centric design?

*social used to indicate social / environmental throughout

We started this project focusing on the way social enterprise
services can be designed to “create sustainable business-driven
solutions to societal problems” (Paraphrased from http://www.goodcap.net/faqs.php), but we feel that the framework can be applied to all projects that aim to benefit society at large.

Some of this is perhaps inapplicable to the context of social tools that aren’t explicitly aspiring to better the world, but I will put it in my scrapbook and steal thoughts from it.