From: Valuemetaphysics@aol.com
Date: Tue May 18 2004 - 00:58:44 BST
Dear forum,
I wish to share this with you:
Searching for the "Sweet Spot" in Group Effects
In: Network-Centric Advocacy - Promoting the adaptation of advocacy and
traditional grassroots organizing to the age of connectivity.
Clay Shirky cranks out a nice overview on group dynamics and social software.
"A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy." touches on both social sciences the group
behavior of online communities. I really like Shirky's dive into W.R. Bion's
book "Experiences in Groups." (Extra-bonus to use see pre-Internet literature
providing value). There are a few points that make the article relevant to
network-centric advocacy.
First, it challenges the "build the self-organizing tools approach" with a
rich history of self-organizing tools that eventually are destoryed by the
lawless nature of the tools. (We should look at his guidelines to see if they
apply)
Second, the article stresses the importance of group membership and groups
(somewhat anti-network-centric). "It's obvious that there are no groups without
members. But what's less obvious is that there are no members without a group.
Because what would you be a member of?"
Third, the article has a "seed" quote. (one of those quotes that I know is
important and worth exploring but I need to let it germinate for a period of
time.)
> "So there's this very complicated moment of a group coming together, where
> enough individuals, for whatever reason, sort of agree that something
> worthwhile is happening, and the decision they make at that moment is: This is good
> and must be protected. And at that moment, even if it's subconscious, you
> start getting group effects. And the effects that we've seen come up over and
> over and over again in online communities. "
>
The quote sticks and is worth mullling over. I agree with it. Group dynamics
do eventually take over. However, network-centric advocacy seeks the sweet
spot of the "complicated moment". Acting while the momentum forms and
disappearing before group effects outweigh the benefits of scale. I can think that flash
mobs might fit the "sweet spot". If the mob stayed for more then a few minutes
police, fire codes and permits, leaders and rules would need to quickly get
involved. However, the gratification is complete and the crowd disappears
before negative group effects kick in.
Can the speed and shorter nature of network-centric advocacy campaign
life-cycles negate much of his talk. What is we don't make the mistake and don't feel
the need to organize a long term community? I can't resolve it so it is a
"seed quote" I'll return to in the future.
Mark: This quote reminded me of Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens. (I love the
works of Dickens - he was aware of and observed many Human patterns of
behaviour?) Dickens explores the nature of the crowd in Barnaby Rudge; there is a
wonderfully horrible chapter in which a crowd storm a prison. Mass hysteria is a
phrase which comes to mind. What ignites a crowd to action? Why does a crowd
act as an ephemeral self organising entity?
I don't know, but it can be experienced, and it seems to have a balance
between social and Intellectual? The dominating level is important, which poses the
possibility of coherence between the two?
The above article suggests a point at which a crowd begin to value their
activity. Of course, the word value is the key; "...this very complicated
moment... ...the decision they make at that moment is: This is good and must be
protected. And at that moment, even if it's subconscious, you start getting group
effects."
For MoQers, this is well explained by a patterned response to DQ. It is DQ
which is doing the work. DQ intervenes when a degree of exceptional SQ-SQ has
emerged from the total repertoire of static values. Everyone recognises this
point as a unifying inclusive sense of value. Coherence. The sweet spot.
I would recommend a look at this also:
http://www.shirky.com/writings/group_enemy.html
All the best,
Mark
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