I have come across some podcasts at iTunes U. Look up the Oxford Internet Institute and under that a podcast with Bernie Hogan (Sociologist and Social Network Analyst) on “Facebook: The Strength of Weak Ties”. It looks at and perhaps offers a different view of Facebook and the relationships we have there vs our other relationships.
Facebook is #1 in UK and Canada, MySpace is #1 in US, Orkut is #1 in Brazil and India.
He looks at what happens when people do not participate in FB (for example, within a family) who miss certain interactions because they are not engaged. He talks about how some people equate being online = not being social while others feel the are being social on the internet.
Issues of equality, context, and information overload are also addressed. Enjoy! Sharon