Two conversations: social software and justice

Earlier this year it occurred to me that there are two conversations going on that have much in common but not enough interaction.

The first is the lively discussion on recent developments in social software especially networked personal publishing in the form of blogs. The people in this discussion range from writers on technology and informational society, to active bloggers and tool makers using and building social software. This discussion takes place largely online and at professional gatherings. The second is the vibrant debate on social justice in the field of analytical political theory especially on the justification of institutional reform. The participants in this debate are mainly professional philosophers, economists, political theorists and makers of public policy. The sites of this debate are academic journals, university departments and academic conferences.

While the discussions on social software and justice have much in common, the people and the places rarely meet. In the coming weeks I'll be posting some thoughts in the overlap of these discussions. The modest aim of these comments is to help bridge these two communities and the arguments. There is also an immodest aim, but more on that later.

I'll be using Clay Shirky's piece on "Power Laws, Weblogs, and Inequality" as a starting point.