Title: The practice of online social networking of the physical world

Authors: Andreas Kamilaris; George Taliadoros; Andreas Pitsillides; Diomidis Papadiomidous

Addresses: Department of Computer Science, Networks Research Laboratory, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, Nicosia, CY 1678, Cyprus. ' Department of Computer Science, Networks Research Laboratory, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, Nicosia, CY 1678, Cyprus. ' Department of Computer Science, Networks Research Laboratory, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, Nicosia, CY 1678, Cyprus. ' Cyprus University of Technology, 30 Archbishop Kyprianos Str., 3036 Limassol, Cyprus

Abstract: A big challenge for the web is to become ubiquitous, blended with the everyday life of people. The pervasive web envisions seamless connectivity with the physical world, where embedded devices offer real-world services to the users. Social networking is a core part of the online experience. The Web 2.0 has become a social web, extending users' social capabilities. Online social networking platforms have the capability to support numerous real-life applications, promoting the concept of sharing environmental services between relatives, friends or more generally groups of people that have common interests. In this paper, we investigate how the social web can be harnessed to facilitate the transit to a pervasive web. We examine this potential through four case studies: a smart home that promotes sharing of household devices between family members; a working environment where employees monitor a common area; a neighbourhood where neighbours compete for energy conservation; and a social application that allows people to compare their electricity footprint with their friends and their community. Through these case studies, we demonstrate the potential benefits of enhancing pervasive applications with social characteristics.

Keywords: pervasive web; social networking; Facebook; web of things; WoT; REST; smart homes; home automation; smart metering; environmental monitoring; energy awareness; social competition; social electricity; embedded devices; energy conservation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSC.2012.050007

International Journal of Space-Based and Situated Computing, 2012 Vol.2 No.4, pp.240 - 252

Received: 28 Feb 2012
Accepted: 17 Jul 2012

Published online: 30 Sep 2014 *

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