Stephen Downes

"We are social animals for whom networked software is creating a new kind of habitat," writes Jon Udell, quoted in the introduction to this interview. One wonders, though, whether we are only social animals - I think we are more. This interview, conducted through Ross Mayfield's 'SocialText' system, flowed "as if taking a shower." But would it have happened at all were there not a story to tell behind the interview, a reason or context that caused these paths to cross. Anyhow, the bulk of the interview is about SocialText and collaboration in general. Mayfield: "providing an alternative to the email-centric and document-centric paradigms is a great opportunity."