researchable questions (round one)

So, it is finally year two of graduate school and our class is quick to jump into the inevitable; thesis. My umbrella topics of interests are Virtual Community & Social Design, so listed below are my first round of thesis questions that I will be refining in the near future.

01. How can the design of a social networking service enhance the communication experience of members in the physical world?

02. How could the co-created technological intervention of [a specific physical community] be developed to increase member's level of engagement?

03. How could the design of collaborative tools within a social networking arena increase community facilitation?

04. What kind of methods could a designer use to co-create the conditions of a virtual community that participants could self-identify with?

05. How can the use of technology mitigate problematic internet use among [a specific group of online users]?

06. In what ways can a designer harness the ubiquity of social media to play a role in the education of [a specific young demographic]?

07. How can the visualizations of online interactions in a social networking setting shape [a specific audience's] perception of self?

08. How can the affordances of digital media be used to address the negative implications of computer mediated communication?

09. How can the design of the interactive tools within a virtual community improve the efficiency and effectiveness of computer mediated communication?

10. How can the design of a virtual community facilitate and enhance identity formation?

Having approached these queries so broadly, my goal is to give my questions more context through specificity. I know what kind of methods and skills I would like to learn during my thesis project, now it is just a matter of deciding what specific social networking service and users will be my vehicle of exploration.