The second group focused on the positive effects of creativity, empowerment and connection online. Despite being outnumbered by cyber-skeptics, we nonetheless created our own promising LEGO model of a social network. It represents several traits and trends that we focus on in our research: 1) it is a structured yet flexible space where users can form communities; they can be together, but not necessarily attached; 2) virtual networks are empowering - look at our giant giraffe who is the 'overuser' and has gained a lot of visibility online! The giraffe also symbolizes the open character of networks towards various identities, voices and styles. 3) You can spot a tower in the middle - there is a guy with the microphone on top of it. It can be a social media star, it can be a power holder, it can be a researcher. We like the idea of a researcher being able to detach him- or herself from social networks, look from above yet remain in the middle of it to get the best knowledge and observation. 4) Social media architecture has an array of spaces for all - there is a habitat for one-to-many crowds (look on the right, one preaching to many), or disperse discussions (Mikael's geggamoja-style users on the left!), or echo chambers (the temple on the left); there are ladders and multiple channels for interconnection between groups, which makes social media a fruitful space for various mobilisations.
All in all, social media are not all rosy, there is digital divide. We, as researchers, could contribute to overcoming this obstacle. The other meeting point for a possible collaboration is the study on how users appropriate designs and platforms offered by the developers, what purposes and habits influence their experience and choices. The third point is creativity as the empowerment tool. We were empowered by our LEGO model, and there is definitely a lot more we can do together.