Friday, February 24, 2006
Become a Community Center
In all that we do, we are linked to each other through nodes or hubs--those people at the center of our networks of family, work colleagues or friends.
These human nodes are increasingly powerful centers of influence, according to physicist Albert-László Barabási, author of *Linked: The New Science of Networks* (http://www.nd.edu/~networks/linked). Yet networks have what he describes as an Achilles' heel.
Knocking out a single major hub can cripple the network, which the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks almost succeeded in doing. In the United States, the airline system, financial markets, and telecommunications networks all suffered grievous blows.
Says Barabási, "A me attitude, where a person or company's immediate self-interest is the only factor, limits network thinking.... Not understanding how the actions of one node affect other nodes easily cripples whole segments of the network." For insights into how we link to each other, or don't, read a free chapter at http://www.nd.edu/~networks/linked/newfile3.htm.
For further insights into how small actions can tip into a trend or other large-scale change in human behavior, read Malcolm Gladwell's *The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference.* (http://www.sayitbetter.com/store/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=TTB&Category_Code=T2F).
When Google went public, life changed for employees in ways that can help us understand the nature of the systems in which we work and play, according to Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones, who've constructed a model with two dimensions of culture--sociability and solidarity--that "give rise to four types of organizational culture: Networked, Communal, Mercenary and Fragmented."
Read the fascinating descriptions of each (http://www.elearningpost.com) in which Goffee and Jones demonstrate that one type is not better than the rest. Each just reflects the conditions under which people relate to each other.
These human nodes are increasingly powerful centers of influence, according to physicist Albert-László Barabási, author of *Linked: The New Science of Networks* (http://www.nd.edu/~networks/linked). Yet networks have what he describes as an Achilles' heel.
Knocking out a single major hub can cripple the network, which the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks almost succeeded in doing. In the United States, the airline system, financial markets, and telecommunications networks all suffered grievous blows.
Says Barabási, "A me attitude, where a person or company's immediate self-interest is the only factor, limits network thinking.... Not understanding how the actions of one node affect other nodes easily cripples whole segments of the network." For insights into how we link to each other, or don't, read a free chapter at http://www.nd.edu/~networks/linked/newfile3.htm.
For further insights into how small actions can tip into a trend or other large-scale change in human behavior, read Malcolm Gladwell's *The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference.* (http://www.sayitbetter.com/store/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=TTB&Category_Code=T2F).
When Google went public, life changed for employees in ways that can help us understand the nature of the systems in which we work and play, according to Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones, who've constructed a model with two dimensions of culture--sociability and solidarity--that "give rise to four types of organizational culture: Networked, Communal, Mercenary and Fragmented."
Read the fascinating descriptions of each (http://www.elearningpost.com) in which Goffee and Jones demonstrate that one type is not better than the rest. Each just reflects the conditions under which people relate to each other.
