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Mapping Weak Signals

Inspired by: FP7 » Social Search - The Real Time People Web

version: 1 / created: 2010-08-10
id: #964 / version id: #964
mode: VIEW

Originally submitted by: Vanessa Watkins
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Last changed by: Vanessa Watkins
WI-WE status:
submitted unpublished

Source of inspiration

European Commission Framework Programme for RTD (FP7)

Theme/activity of inspiration

Theme 8 - Socio-economic Sciences and the Humanities

Sub-theme/area of inspiration

Blue Sky Research on emerging issues and other research economies

Optional reference/s to FP7 project/s

Use the following format: Project Acronym (Project Reference No.). Use commas if more than one project is associated to this Wild Card, for example: ALFA-BIRD (213266), SAFAR (213374), LAPCAT-II (211485)
Source: INFU (225229) - http://www.innovation-futures.org/ http://vark.com

Signal's headline

(max. 9 words)
Social Search - The Real Time People Web

Signal's description

(approx. 150 words)
Please describe the Weak Signal (approx. 150 words)
The amount of information being available on the web in real time explodes, especially since Facebook status updates and tweets on twitter. It is now possible to see what lots of people are talking about in real-time on the web. This enables the so-called „Social Search“. In contrast to web search, the Vark social search engine makes it possible to find a person who has the information you are looking for. How does it work? Online contents indicate the area of expertise of any given person (this can then also be used as a filter) and reveal their contact information. To use social search engines for posting questions is more effective then posting it in a specific forum, because the social search engine links more people at the same time and act as a kind of filter, posting the question only to those how might answer them. Advantage: The index of people is always up-to-date and has not to be managed in databases. With more people being online more often, the number of answers increases.

Keywords

knowledge sharing, social media, search engine, internet, real-time information

Signal's first apperance

2005-now

Signal's potential evolution

It could lead to...
issue type of issue/development potential impact on society timeframe for the issue to become at least 50% probable
#1 Change in current innovation patterns new/emerging
 		neutral
 		now-2015

Importance

please specify
please select
Level 2: important for a particular world region Regions with internet access

Key driving forces of this signal

Please use these boxes to provide up to 2 drivers of HIGH importance. Click on HELP to see examples:
Driver 1 Driver 2
Social People show a great willingness to share their knowledge with each other and helping each other. Additionally, people increasingly use the web as main source of information, as they believe it is faster and more up to date than books or other offline publications.
Technological/Scientific Mobile devices and the “evernet” will further increase the number of people using real-time applications. It becomes easier and easier to share knowledge through the web and get in touch with each other.

Major risks & opportunities associated to the signal

Please choose the most appropriate timeframe option(s) to which you would like to provide inputs.
Risks Opportunities
before 2015 People could feel annoyed by getting asked by other people too often after the social search engines has pointed to them. The flood of online and real-time data could quickly become overwhelming for most people and create new barriers to knowledge exchange. By now, the web was mainly used to find facts and published content. With social search, people are able to get in touch with each other in real time and share their knowledge, also the one not made visible online (so far). Today the existing social search engines are designed to find people that know practical things, like: “where can I go for the best cocktail in town?” but it is easily imaginable that the idea is adopted to find answers to scientific questions as well. What really matters is the increased accessibility of people, not just information online. In general, innovation and exchange of knowledge become easier and happen in real time. New solutions and unique combinations of skills are made possible, globally.

Signal's relevance for European Grand Challenges

where? please justify:
particularly relevant Europe world
Globalization vs. localization
Innovation dynamics

Signal's relevance for thematic research areas

please justify:
particularly relevant
ICT - Information & communication technologies
Social Sciences and Humanities
International S&T Cooperation

Pan-European strategies influencing the signal

please justify:
particularly relevant
Facilitating and promoting knowledge sharing and transfer

Research-friendly strategies potentially improving understanding of the signal

For further information about 'research-friendly strategies' click here
please justify:
particularly relevant
Strengthening the actors in the research-friendly ecology
(i.e. Research funding organisations, universities, businesses, Research and Technology Organisations, Researchers and Citizens)