Social Network

Social Network Health is a working group focused on understanding social-network health and applying research and practical tools to distributed communities. Its resources serve developers, researchers, remote workers, and community organizers exploring how relationships can support wellbeing while respecting individual privacy and control.

The project develops educational materials and software experiments, including the Personal Network Toolkit, a set of patterns for evaluating Personal Network Applications. These user-owned tools manage relationship data locally, outside SaaS systems, and emphasize clear agreements that help people control their applications and information. Related resources include an application specification, reference designs, a positioning paper, and a plain-language explanation.

Ongoing research addresses risks to remote and distributed communities through a threat catalog, proposals for estimating community-level indicators from opt-in personal networks, and designs for private help-seeking and proactive peer check-ins. The organization also offers a searchable research library, a wiki of best practices and findings, and video interviews and field reports.