Found this interesting article (OpenP2P.com: Next-Generation File Sharing with Social Networks) by Robert Kaye on OpenP2P that looks at how a closed social net based file sharing network would look like.
The "network policy" problem is probably the trickiest bit here - a "tribe leader" must come up with a policy that balances openness to new members and resistance to intruders. Robert hinted at continued monitoring to ensure network integrity but this seem like a lot of work for one "tribe leader" (even the mob hires an army of heavies to do this job).
The key is in the reputation model. Such a network would probably need a model that:
- is expressive enough such that natural trust assertions can be made.
- allows policies to be expressed in its terms
- indicates accountability for recommendations
Also, Clay Shirky's article (File-sharing Goes Social) has a good example on how the network can be attacked.
1 October 2004
File sharing in Social Networks
