I enjoyed reading "Public displays of connection (.pdf from BT Technology Journal) by Judith Donath and Danah Boyd. It's basically about the social implications of social network's public display. I like the typology of social software users:

energetic collectors of links were often referred to as ‘Friendster whores’

For some, the sites function as an awareness tool, a way to be reminded of friends and acquaintances.

For others, the sites — as promised — provide opportunities to find information, dates, and jobs. These are the people who are using these sites as exploratory vehicles for navigating an extended social network.

The article describes interesting issues like the cost of linking or the reason of such public display. Why do I blog this? I am interested in such tool, especially for network navigation and serendipituous discovering of information. However, I don't like the fact that it's based on not-so-relevant technology. I would prefer something based on FOAF (even though it's more difficult to have to have the 'mutual linking' feature: putting someone in your foaf would require the other to accecpt it). I find boring and clearly not convenient to fill those social software forms instead of having all these information in the same place: a foaf generated from your address book with contacts' acknolwedgement to be in/displayed.