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Social Technology | Samo Burja

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Although people are relatively aware of the material technology that powers their lives, they are less aware of the non-material technology that influences them — namely, social technology. Just as HTTP is the operating protocol for the web, politeness is the operating protocol for our social interactions. Following the protocol will lead to predictable and desirable outcomes. Breaking the protocol will lead to inaccessible websites, or, perhaps, unwanted social awkwardness. Politeness, just like HTTP, can be documented and taught. When we talk about “social technology”, we are not referring to social media platforms like Facebook or Reddit, which are properly material technologies made possible by the right arrangements of consumer electronics, server farms, and computer networks. We mean something analogous to the idea of social engineering, a concept that came about at the end of the 19th century that refers to the intentional design of specific social arrangements and ways of opera

Social Technology by Samo Burja | Mar 2, 2018 Social Technology by Samo Burja | March 2, 2018 This is an excerpt from the draft of my upcoming book on great founder theory. Learn more here. Although people are relatively aware of the material technology that powers their lives, they are less aware of the non-material technology that influences them — namely, social technology. Just as HTTP is the operating protocol for the web, politeness is the operating protocol for our social interactions. Following the protocol will lead to predictable and desirable outcomes. Breaking the protocol will lea

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