tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74020792024-03-15T21:09:32.809-04:00ConnectednessHelping people link to results.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger402125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-55969764905316841122015-12-09T17:04:00.003-05:002015-12-09T17:04:22.158-05:00Hello, WorldAfter a 66.6 month hiatus, here is another post!<br />
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This week I met Jacob Hess. With <a href="http://www.livingroomconversations.org/">Living Room Conversations</a>, he invites Americans to rediscover the joys of civil discourse. (See also <a href="http://ncdd.org/">National Coalition for Dialog and Deliberation</a>.) With <a href="http://www.alloflife.org/">All of Life</a>, he asks us to consider public-health-themed approaches to mental health.<br />
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This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/" rel="license">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2015 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License-->
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<license rdf:about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits rdf:resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"/><permits rdf:resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"/><requires rdf:resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"/><requires rdf:resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"/><permits rdf:resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"/><requires rdf:resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"/></License></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-62940133649113396712010-06-08T16:23:00.007-04:002010-06-08T17:09:07.594-04:00What does leadership look like? By Vaclav HavelAfter reading my recent response to her question, "<a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2010/06/what-does-leadership-look-like.html">What does leadership look like in a healthy network</a>," Claire Reinelt referred me to Vaclav Havel, leader of the Velvet Revolution (which brought a peaceful end to Communist rule in Czechoslovakia 20 years ago). In Fall 2009, the <a href="http://www.ila-net.org/">International Leadership Association</a> (ILA) held its annual conference in Prague and awarded its Distinguished Leader Award to Havel. He accepted the award and welcomed the conference with these words about leadership (translated from Czech) :<br /><blockquote>Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to greet your conference most warmly and thank you for the award I am to receive from you. I think it is splendid that this conference is taking place in Prague -- not simply because it honors and publicizes our capital city, but also because of the topic of your conference at a time when are truly in need of good leaders. Your conference can be an asset to its host country and provide some lessons.<br /><br />You have approached me as a leader although I don't know whether I am a particularly typical one. And I am somewhat reticent about being labeled one. But if I try to step back from myself and reflect on this topic, then I do have after all one particular insight to share, namely, that people don't become central persons by their own decision; it is life that lures them and creates them. It doesn't require any particular leadership habits or style. A leader isn't someone who shouts or arouses fear in others, but rather someone that people need to have near them and feel at their backs.<br /><br />I have one personal recollection. At a certain moment during our peaceful revolution, I was already very tired and exhausted from all the endless speculations, decisions, speech-writing and thinking up new things, and so I escaped for a couple of days to a secret location -- a friend's studio -- where I reflected on my coming speeches and tried to relax. Interestingly, I suddenly started to be missed at the Civic Forum, which was then the focus of all the revolutionary events. I was missed not because there was a specific job or task that I had to do without fail or one that I and only I could do. There was nothing that could not be dealt with without me, and yet I was missed. I was missed as a special kind of background support, the sort that we take into account and that we think about, one that in some way helps us to act and not become confused. Without my having realized it, or desired it, it strikes me that in that sense I was able to play the role of a central figure. I find it amazing, because I am the last person to consider myself to have charisma. However, since I have been invited to talk on this topic, I thought I would share this experience of mine with you.<br /><br />Apart from all other abilities and skills, leaders should also have trust in their coworkers. They should radiate calm, and they should truly be a background support that others can sense, one that is important to them and gives them energy.<br /><br />Thank you for your attention. I wish your conference every success.<object width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vl-oTKw21xQ&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vl-oTKw21xQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /></blockquote>A video of Havel's speech is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl-oTKw21xQ&feature=player_embedded">here</a>. Another transcription of the speech is hosted by ILA <a href="http://www.ila-net.org/Awards/DLA/HavelTranscript.pdf">here</a>.<br /><br />Compare Havel's remarks to <a href="http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/taote-v3.html#17">Verse 17</a> of the Tao Te Ching (expanding on the passage I quoted last time):<br /><blockquote><br />When the Master governs, the people<br />Are hardly aware that he exists.<br />Next best is a leader who is loved.<br />Next, one who is feared.<br />The worst is one who is despised.<br /><br />If you don't trust the people,<br />you make them untrustworthy.<br /><br />The Master doesn't talk, he acts.<br />When his work is done,<br />The people say, "Amazing:<br />We did it, all by ourselves!"<br /><div style="text-align: right;">--Stephen Mitchell (trans 1988)</div></blockquote>Thanks, Claire, for illuminating my Taoist quotes on leadership with such a timely example.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><!--Creative Commons License--><!--<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" border="0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/3.0/us/80x15.png" /></a><br />-->This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2010 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"> <work about=""> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"> </work> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-8144216167350807492010-06-02T14:17:00.006-04:002010-06-02T15:55:28.674-04:00What does leadership look like?The <a href="http://leadershiplearning.org/">Leadership Learning Community</a> is hosting an interesting <a href="http://www.leadershipforanewera.org/page/Network+Leadership">conversation on network leadership</a>. As part of that dialogue, <a href="http://leadershiplearning.org/blog/claire-reinelt">Claire Reinelt</a> put to me the question, "What does leadership look like in a healthy network?"<br /><br />In response, I turn to The <span style="font-style: italic;">Tao Te Ching</span> by Lao Tsu. This ancient Chinese book of wisdom has inspired many translators to describe leaders and leadership of healthy networks. A few examples are below.<br /><br /><br />The best leader is one whose existence is barely known by the people.<br />True Persons do not offer words lightly.<br />When their task is accomplished and their work is completed,<br />The people say, "It happened to us naturally."<br /><div style="text-align: right;"> --Tolbert McCarroll (trans 1982)<br /></div><br /><br />When the Master governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists.<br />The Master doesn't talk, he acts.<br />When his work is done, the people say,<br />"Amazing: we did it all by ourselves!"<br /><div style="text-align: right;"> --Stephen Mitchell (trans 1988)<br /></div><br /><br />The "very highest" by those below is just known to exist.<br />He takes his time, oh, as he weighs his words carefully.<br />And, when success is had and the task accomplished,<br />The common folk all say, "We just live naturally."<br /><div style="text-align: right;">--Richard John Lynn (trans 1999)<br /></div><br /><br />To know Tao alone without trace of your own existence is the highest.<br />The great ruler speaks little and his words are priceless.<br />He works without self-interest and leaves no trace.<br />When all is finished, the people say, "It happened by itself."<br /><div style="text-align: right;">--Jonathan Star (trans 2001)<br /></div><br /><br />The very highest is barely known by men.<br />When actions are performed<br />Without unnecessary speech,<br />People say, "We did it!"<br /><div style="text-align: right;">--Gia-Fu Feng (trans 1972)<br /></div><br /><br />BTW, this is not the first time the Tao Te Ching has graced these pages.<br /><ul><li>See <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2008/05/chain-mail-and-effective-flow.html">here</a> for Taoist perspective on the spread of information. </li><li>See <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2009/05/searchable-leadership-networks.html">here</a> and <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2007/07/memorable-km-advice-from-lao-tsu.html">here</a> for Taoist perspective on naming and organizing things.</li></ul><span style="font-size:78%;">This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2010 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"> <work about=""> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"> </work> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-56702072215811311852010-05-26T16:38:00.004-04:002010-05-26T17:59:04.515-04:00Organizational and network leadershipMany thanks to the <a href="http://leadershiplearning.org/">Leadership Learning Community</a> for honoring me with the <a href="http://leadershiplearning.org/blog/bcelnik/2010-05-25/member-spotlight-bruce-hoppe-and-connective-associates">monthly member spotlight</a> in their newsletter published today.<br /><br />The same newsletter features Claire Reinelt's article, "<a href="http://leadershiplearning.org/blog/claire-reinelt/2010-05-18/how-network-leadership-different-organizational-leadership-and-why-un">How is network leadership different from organizational leadership</a>." She shares a chart from the <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/workingwikily/social-networks-for-social-change-wsp-166">Monitor Institute</a> that breaks it down like so:<br /><br /><table style="text-align: left; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="rtecenter"><strong>Organizational Leadership</strong></td> <td class="rtecenter"><strong>Network Leadership</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Position, authority</td> <td>Role, behavior</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Individual</td> <td>Collective</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Control</td> <td>Facilitation</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Directive</td> <td>Emergent</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Transactional</td> <td>Relational, connected</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Top-down</td> <td> Bottom-up</td> </tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;">Action-oriented<br /></td><td style="vertical-align: top;">Process-oriented<br /></td></tr> </tbody> </table><div style="text-align: center;"> <em></em><br /></div>Here's what is meaningful to me in this table:<br /><ul><li>Network leadership emerges and dissolves in accordance with its environment (emergent facilitation).</li><li>Organizational leadership sustains itself with a force distinct from its environment (directive control).<!--Creative Commons License--><!--<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" border="0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/3.0/us/80x15.png" /></a><br />--><br /></li></ul><span style="font-size:78%;">This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2010 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"> <work about=""> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"> </work> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-74137750663393207522009-12-14T11:56:00.004-05:002009-12-14T12:34:23.476-05:00Web science, WebwhompersI have just unveiled <a href="http://webwhompers.com">Webwhompers</a>, which bears the fruit of four years of my teaching Web science at Boston University. The site features a few interests of mine:<br /><ul><li>A solid layman's introduction to Web science, focusing on the intersection of mathematics, sociology, and the Web as it is used and built by regular people. It is all presented as an online textbook you can read <a href="http://webwhompers.com/course-overview.html">here</a>.</li><li>A case study in educational methodology. Unlike the online textbook, which is meant to be read, the rest of Webwhompers is meant to be experienced. It provides the online portion of my answer to the question, "What can 70 non-technical college students do together in 12 weeks that will result in their learning as much as possible about the Web?"</li></ul>The <a href="http://webwhompers.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=14&Itemid=72"><span style="font-weight: bold;">course mission statement</span></a> puts it this way:<br /><p>Technology is often created by "experts" and then used by "regular people." Webwhompers celebrates the "Web builder": a regular person who creates his own Web technology. </p><p>Sometimes it helps to distinguish between "regular people" who use technology and "experts" who create technology. For example, a regular person might want a home stereo; he pays experts to create hi-fi technology for him. In other cases, regular people create technology without even considering asking for expert help—for example, making a snowball.</p><p>Much of the Web technology that regular people want is within their power to create, just like a snowball. Webwhompers seeks to unleash the technical creativity of the regular person: By highlighting Web building resources, by bringing together aspiring Web builders, by providing expert guidance when necessary, and by encouraging regular people to try on the idea that they can create their own Web technology.<br /></p><p>The <a href="http://webwhompers.com/course-overview.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">course overview</span></a> puts it this way:<br /></p>Our course introduces <a href="http://webscience.org/">Web science</a>. It has no prerequisites and has been used by non-technical undergraduates at Boston University since 2006. Our curriculum is guided by the following passage adapted from "<a href="http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1364782.1364798&coll=ACM&dl=ACM&idx=J79%E2%88%82=magazine&WantType=Magazines&title=Communications&CFID=76510112&CFTOKEN=19304047">Web Science: An Interdisciplinary Approach to understanding the Web</a>," by James Hendler, Nigel Shadbolt, Wendy Hall, and Tim Berners-Lee:<blockquote><div class="open"><div class="close">Web science, an emerging interdisciplinary field, takes the Web as its primary object of study. This study incorporates both the social interactions enabled by the Web's design and the applications that support them.<p>The Web is often studied at the <strong>micro scale</strong>, as an infrastructure of protocols, programming languages, and applications. However, it is the interaction of human beings creating, linking, and consuming information that generates the Web's behavior as emergent properties at the <strong>macro scale</strong>. These properties often generate surprising properties that require new analytic methods to be understood.</p><p>For example, when Mosaic, the first popular Web browser, was released publicly in 1992, the number of users quickly grew by several orders of magnitude, with more than a million downloads in the first year. The wide deployment of Mosaic led to a need for a way to find relevant material on the growing Web, and thus search became an important application, and later an industry, in its own right. The enormous success of search engines has inevitably yielded techniques to game the algorithms (an unexpected result) to improve search rank, leading, in turn, to the development of better search technologies to defeat the gaming. More recent macro-scale examples include photo-sharing on Flickr, video-uploading on YouTube, and social-networking sites like mySpace and Facebook.</p><p>The essence of Web science is to understand how to design systems to produce the effects we want. The best we can do today is design and build in the micro, hoping for the best; but how do we know if we've built in the right functionality to ensure the desired macro-scale effects? How do we predict other side effects and the emergent properties of the macro? Further, as the success or failure of a particular Web technology may involve aspects of social interaction among users, understanding the Web requires more than a simple analysis of technological issues but also of the social dynamic of perhaps millions of users. </p><p>Given the breadth of the Web and its inherently multi-user (social) nature, its science is necessarily interdisciplinary, involving at least mathematics, computer science, sociology, psychology, and economics.</p></div></div></blockquote>Four important themes of Web Science are <ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Micro:</span> an individual acts</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Macro:</span> the world responds (or not) to an individual's action</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Synthetic:</span> something is created to produce a desired result</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Analytic:</span> laws are stated to explain observed phenomena</li></ul><p>We focus on these themes as they apply to <strong>Web builders</strong> -- people who contribute links and other content to the Web: </p><table width="0%" align="center" border="2"><tbody><tr style="background-color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><td style="font-weight: bold;" valign="top"><br /></td><td style="font-weight: bold;" valign="top" align="center">Synthetic<br /></td><td style="font-weight: bold;" valign="top" align="center">Analytic<br /></td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold; background-color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" valign="middle">Micro<br /></td><td valign="top">An individual builds a Web<br />site to produce a desired result.<br /></td><td valign="top" align="center"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">(</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">We do not speak<br />to this quadrant.)</span><br /></span></td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold; background-color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" valign="middle">Macro<br /></td><td valign="top"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"The world" builds a Web site<br />to produce a desired result</span>.</td><td valign="top">Laws are stated to explain<br />large-scale Web phenomena.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Some Web builders consider themselves Web developers; others consider themselves bloggers; others merely post an occasional comment on someone else's blog or discussion forum. We say "Web builder" to encompass the full spectrum of people who contribute links and other content to the Web. </p><p>Our <a href="http://webwhompers.com/moodle/course/view.php?id=11">lab curriculum</a> provides an informal hands-on approach to the task of building a Web site. Our <a href="http://webwhompers.com/search.html">Search</a> and <a href="http://webwhompers.com/share.html">Share</a> pages help Web builders leverage collectively engineered resources (such as WordPress). The formal chapters of the <a href="http://webwhompers.com/course-overview.html">Study</a> page (which you are now reading) explain large scale Web phenomena; they also explain the Amazon recommendation algorithm and the Google PageRank algorithm. </p><p>The sociology, psychology, and economics of this course follow Duncan Watts' <em>Six Degrees</em>, which we recommend as a narrative companion to our own material. Our complete suggested reading list is below.</p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Online safety</span> <table class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <p>Protecting yourself from evildoers</p><ul><li><span>“<a href="http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2004/virus.asp">The Difference Between a Virus, Worm, and Trojan Horse</a>” by Webopedia</span></li><li><span>"<a href="http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/16-12/ff_kaminsky?currentPage=all">Secret geek A-Team hacks back, defends Web</a>" by Joshua Davis, <span style="font-style: italic;">Wired</span>, Nov 2008</span></li><li><span>"<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/06/technology/internet/06security.html?scp=1&sq=+internet%20crime%20bad%20guys&st=cse">Thieves winning online war in your computer</a>" by John Markoff, <span style="font-style: italic;">NY Times</span>, Dec 2008</span></li></ul><p>Privacy, trust, and ownership</p><ul><li>"<a href="http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=20060828_132299_132299">Google Knows All</a>" by Sarah Elton of <a href="http://macleans.ca/">Macleans.ca</a>.</li><li>"<a href="http://vermonttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070401/FEATURES/70330002"><span class="articleHead">Wikipedia: What do they know; when do they know it, and when can we trust it?</span></a>" by Susan Youngwood, <span style="font-style: italic;">Vermont Today</span>, April 2007</li><li><a href="http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses/">Choosing a license by Creative Commons</a>.</li></ul></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <span class="article_separator"> </span> <div> <table class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody><tr> <td class="contentheading" width="100%"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Networks</span> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <p>Basic mathematical foundations of networks: </p> <p><a href="http://webwhompers.com/set-theory.html">Set Theory</a></p> <ul class="toc"><li>Sets</li><li> Explicit Notation for Sets </li><li> Cardinality </li><li> Subsets </li><li> Venn Diagrams </li><li> Union and Intersection </li><li> Ordered Lists </li><li> Implicit Notation for Sets </li><li> Logical Expressions </li><li> Compound expressions with "or" </li><li> Compound expressions with "and" </li><li> Union and intersection defined formally </li><li> Similarity of Sets </li></ul> <p><a href="http://webwhompers.com/graph-theory.html">Graph Theory</a></p> <ul class="toc"><li> <a href="http://webwhompers.com/graph-theory.html"> </a>Graphs</li><li>Undirected and Directed </li><li> Neighborhood and Degree </li><li> Density and Average Degree </li><li> Paths </li><li> Paths in undirected graphs defined formally </li><li> Paths in directed graphs </li><li> Length </li><li> Distance </li></ul><p>See also <a href="http://facebook.com/">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.touchgraph.com/TGFacebookBrowser.html">Touchgraph</a> </p></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <span class="article_separator"> </span> </div> <div> <table style="font-weight: bold;" class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody><tr> <td class="contentheading" width="100%"> Network Structure </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <p>Hubs, clusters, and other basic structural features of the Web:</p><p><a href="http://webwhompers.com/network-structure.html">Network Structure</a> </p> <ul class="toc"><li>Connected: a word of many meanings</li><li> Induced Subgraphs </li><li> "Connected" defined formally </li><li> Connected graphs and connected components </li><li> Hubs </li><li> Clusters </li><li> Defining clusters, part one: connected components </li><li> Defining clusters, part two: cliques </li><li> Defining clusters, part three</li></ul><p>See also: </p><ul><li><a href="http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/nbreader.asp?ArticleID=17813">"Bow Tie" Structure of the WWW</a>, by Chris Sherman, <span style="font-style: italic;">Information Today, </span>May 22, 2000.</li><li><em>Six Degrees</em> Chapter 2 (skim pp 48-55 & 62-68) </li></ul></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <span class="article_separator"> </span> </div> <div> <table class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody><tr> <td class="contentheading" width="100%"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Network Dynamics</span> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <p>How randomness, homophily, and cumulative advantage shape the Web:</p><p><a href="http://webwhompers.com/network-dynamics.html">Network Dynamics</a> </p><ul class="toc"><li> <a href="http://webwhompers.com/network-dynamics.html"> </a>Limitations of traditional graph theory</li><li>Introduction to network dynamics </li><li> Three models of dynamic graphs </li><li> Random graphs </li><li> Demonstration of random graph dynamics </li><li> Random graph algorithm </li><li> Clusters and homophily </li><li> Triadic closure </li><li> Triadic closure algorithm </li><li> Hubs and cumulative advantage </li><li> Preferential attachment algorithm </li></ul><p>See also:</p> <ul><li>"<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/magazine/15wwlnidealab.t.html?_r=2&ref=magazine&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin">Is Justin Timberlake a product of cumulative advantage?</a>" by Duncan Watts, <span style="font-style: italic;">The New York Times</span>, April 2007</li><li>"<a href="http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111928&govDel=USNSF_51">Science Online: Too Much of a Good Thing?</a>", NSF Press Release featuring sociologist James Evans, July 17, 2008.</li></ul><div style="display: none;"> <p>All the above are summarized in the following table: </p><table border="2" cellspacing="4"><tbody><tr><td style="background-color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"> </td><td style="background-color: silver;"><strong>Random graphs</strong><br /></td><td style="background-color: silver;"><strong>Clustering </strong><br /></td><td style="background-color: silver;"><strong>Centrality</strong><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="background-color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><strong>Real-world phenomenon explained by model<br /></strong></td><td>Giant component forms quickly when |E| ≅ |V|.<br /></td><td>Clusters emerge, providing "table of contents" overview.<br /></td><td>Hubs emerge, indicating popularity and/or influence.<br /></td></tr><tr><td style="background-color: silver;"><strong>Web sites<br /></strong></td><td>N/A<br /></td><td><a href="http://clusty.com/">Clusty</a>, <a href="http://iboogie.com/">iBoogie</a>, <a href="http://grokker.com/">Grokker</a><br /></td><td><a href="http://google.com/">Google</a> <em>et al</em><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="background-color: silver;"><strong>Sociological force<br /></strong></td><td>Chance<br /></td><td>Homophily<br /></td><td>Cumulative advantage<br /></td></tr><tr><td style="background-color: silver;"><strong>Mathematical model<br /></strong></td><td>Random graph algorithm<br /></td><td>Triadic closure algorithm<br /></td><td>Preferential attachment algorithm<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <span class="article_separator"> </span> </div> <div> <table class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody><tr> <td class="contentheading" width="100%"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Variables, Probability, and Scale-Free Networks</span> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <p>Understanding that the Web is a scale-free network requires some probability theory:</p><p><a href="http://webwhompers.com/random-variables.html">Variables and Probability</a> </p><ul class="toc"><li>Variables in mathematics</li><li> Variables in algorithms </li><li> Random variables </li><li> Discrete vs. continuous variables </li><li> Probability distributions </li><li> Degree distributions </li></ul><p>General discussion of scale-free networks:</p><ul><li><em>Six Degrees</em> Chapter 4, pp 101-114</li><li>From previous chapter on <a href="http://webwhompers.com/network-dynamics.html">Network Dynamics<br /></a><ul><li> Hubs and cumulative advantage </li><li> Preferential attachment algorithm </li></ul></li></ul></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <span class="article_separator"> </span> </div> <div> <table class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody><tr> <td class="contentheading" width="100%"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Information and Computation</span> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <p>Applying fundamental concepts of computer science to the Web</p><p><a href="http://webwhompers.com/algorithms.html">Information and computation</a></p> <ul class="toc"><li> <a href="http://webwhompers.com/algorithms.html"> </a>Information, computation, and algorithms</li><li>Summation: an example of what computation is </li><li> HTML: an example of what computation is not</li><li> <a href="http://webwhompers.com/algorithms/24-algorithms/124-computing-distance-part-one.html"> </a>Computing distance, part one: Information diffusion </li><li> Computing distance, part two: Example </li><li> Computing distance, part three: Algorithm</li></ul><p>Examples of information diffusion on the Web:</p> <ul><li><a href="http://www.commoncraft.com/bookmarking-plain-english">Social bookmarking in plain English</a> by Common Craft</li><li>RSS: <ul><li><a href="http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english">RSS in plain English</a> by Common Craft</li><li><a href="http://rss.softwaregarden.com/aboutrss.html">What is RSS?</a> by Software Garden </li></ul></li><li>XML:<ul><li><a href="http://www.xmlfiles.com/xml/xml_intro.asp">Introduction to XML</a> by Jan Egil Refsnes</li><li><a href="http://www.xmlfiles.com/xml/xml_usedfor.asp">How can XML be used?</a> by Jan Egil Refsnes</li></ul></li></ul><p>See also:</p><ul><li> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g">The Machine is Us/ing Us</a></li><li>Skim<span style="font-style: italic;"> Six Degrees</span> pp 135-139: "Is six a big or a small number?"</li></ul></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <span class="article_separator"> </span> </div> <div> <table style="font-weight: bold;" class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody><tr> <td class="contentheading" width="100%"> Collaborative Filtering </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <p>How to compute personalized recommendations:</p><p><a href="http://webwhompers.com/collaborative-filtering.html">Collaborative Filtering</a> </p> <ul class="toc"><li>"Expert opinions" without the experts</li><li> Delicious: example of CF </li><li> Bookmarks: content of Delicious </li><li> Tuples: content of CF </li><li> Bipartite graphs: structure of CF </li><li> Structural equivalence: computation of CF </li><li> Delicious: algorithmic summary </li><li> The four steps of collaborative filtering </li></ul></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <span class="article_separator"> </span> </div> <div> <table style="font-weight: bold;" class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody><tr> <td class="contentheading" width="100%"> The Long Tail </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <p>Niches and blockbusters in the world of Web commerce:</p><p><a href="http://webwhompers.com/the-long-tail.html">The Long Tail</a><br /></p> <div> </div> <ul class="toc"><li>Macro-analytic view of collaborative filtering</li><li> Power law revisited </li><li> Niches, megahits, and the neglected middle </li><li> Macro-analytic view of the long tail </li><li> Macro view of Web programming </li></ul> <p>See also:</p><ul><li><a href="http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html">The Long Tail</a>, by Chris Anderson. <em>Wired</em>, October 2004.</li><li><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/07/10/060710crbo_books1">Going Long</a>, by John Cassidy. <em>The New Yorker</em>, July 2006.</li><li><em>Six Degrees</em> Chapter 7, pp 207-215: Information Externalities & Market Externalities<em> </em></li></ul></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <span class="article_separator"> </span> </div> <div> <table class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody><tr> <td class="contentheading" width="100%"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Influence in Networks</span> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table style="width: 364px; height: 252px;" class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <p>How to compute the influence of a Web page:</p><p><a href="http://webwhompers.com/pagerank.html">Influence in Networks</a></p><ul class="toc"><li>Popularity, influence, and centrality</li><li>Introduction to PageRank</li><li>NetRank: a simplified version of PageRank</li><li>Normalization and convergence</li><li>The NetRank algorithm</li><li>Dividing by outdegree: the NR* formula</li><li>The PageRank formula</li><li>The damping factor: PageRank as probability </li></ul><p>See also <a href="http://www.webworkshop.net/pagerank.html">PageRank Explained</a> by Phil Craven</p></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <span class="article_separator"> </span> </div> <table class="contentpaneopen"> <tbody><tr> <td class="contentheading" width="100%"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Competition and Cooperation</span> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>What happens when Web builders seek to increase their influence?</p><p><a href="http://webwhompers.com/game-theory.html">Games: Competition and Cooperation</a></p><ul class="toc"><li>Dynamics of popularity and influence</li><li>PageRank competition</li><li>Doing the right thing</li><li>Mutually assured construction</li><li>Authority, reciprocity, reputation</li><li>Game theory</li><li>Winners' dilemma </li></ul><p>See also</p><ul><li><em>Six Degrees</em> Chapter 7 pp 202-204: Diners' Dilemma and Tragedy of the Commons</li><li><a href="http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/playground/pd.html">Prisoners' Dilemma</a> by Serendip; also "<a href="http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/playground/pdref.html">What's so important about this game</a>"</li><li><em>Six Degrees</em> Chapter 7 pp 215-219: Coordination Externalities</li><li>Tragedy of the Anti-Commons (aka "<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2008/08/11/080811ta_talk_surowiecki">The Permission Problem</a>") by James Surowiecki, The New Yorker, August 2008</li></ul><span style="font-size:78%;">This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-48824515828755659722009-09-28T11:06:00.002-04:002009-09-28T11:52:14.285-04:00Notable roles in living systemsMeasuring and mapping networks can help us understand a system holistically.<br /><br />With that in mind, I paused a week ago to read an obituary in the <span style="font-style: italic;">NY Times</span>: "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/nyregion/22slobodkin.html?hpw">Lawrence B. Slobodkin, Pioneering Ecologist, Dies at 81</a>." Curious to see what had made Slobodkin a pioneer in his own systems-oriented field, I read on and discovered his most famous paper. Published in 1960 as "<a href="http://www.plantbio.ohiou.edu/epb/instruct/commecology/refs/HSS%201960.pdf">Community Structure, Population Control and Competition</a>," the paper's four pages contain a grand overview of how terrestrial ecosystems work, and is still widely discussed today.<br /><br />Slobodkin and his co-authors present these distinct roles in the terrestrial ecosystem:<br /><ul><li>fossil fuels</li><li>sunlight</li><li>producers (e.g., plants)<br /></li><li>decomposers<br /></li><li>herbivores</li><li>carnivores</li></ul>They then tackle the overarching question: for each role above, what is the critical factor that limits its growth? For example, in which roles are peers competing for scarce resources, and in which roles are populations controlled not by scarce resources but by predation?<br /><br />Somehow, I am convinced that these roles map in a meaningful way more recent natural systems such as the world economy or American healthcare. Which parts of these systems correspond to which of the above roles in the terrestrial biosphere? Any ideas, anyone?<br /><br />One thing that surprised me about Slobodkin's map of the biosphere was its early and explicit inclusion of fossil fuels. This inclusion makes a lot more sense to me now that I am reading (coincidentally) Michael Pollan's <span style="font-style: italic;">Ominivore's Dilemma</span>, which also speaks to a holistic view of the terrestrial biosphere. One of the darker themes of the book is that human desire for productivity leads people to feed plants with fossil fuels instead of sunlight.<br /><br />The same day Slobodkin's obituary was published, the <span style="font-style: italic;">NY Times</span> also featured this headline: "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/23/business/economy/23gdp.html?_r=1&hpw">Emphasis on growth is called misguided</a>," reporting a paper commissioned by Nicolas Sarkozy and written by a pair of Nobel-laureate economists.<br /><br />It's a lot to absorb. But strikes me as relevant to those of us interested in metrics that pertain to well-being.<br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><!--Creative Commons License--><!--<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" border="0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/3.0/us/80x15.png" /></a><br/>--><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-50965420966606108462009-09-08T16:53:00.003-04:002009-09-08T17:00:03.707-04:00Interesting Webinar 9/14: Leadership for a New EraThe wonderful <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2009/05/leadership-for-new-era.html">Claire Reinelt</a> recently shared this with me:<br /><b><br /></b><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Leadership for a New Era</b><br /></div><br />We invite ALL members of the leadership development community to join a <b>free introductory webinar</b> to the <a href="http://www.leadershipforanewera.com/">Leadership for a New Era</a> (LNE) initiative on <b>September 14th at 12:30 EDT</b> (9:30 PDT). LNE is a collaborative learning initiative developed by the <a href="http://leadershiplearning.org/">Leadership Learning Community</a> (LLC), a nonprofit organization focused on connecting organizations and individuals in the leadership development field with a commitment to social equity. Through LNE we are establishing partnerships (such as <a href="http://www.leadershipforanewera.com/page/Partners">these</a>) to influence our current leadership development thinking and practice, and to promote a shift from a model of leadership focused on individual skills and attributes to a model of leadership that is inclusive, rooted in community, networked, and action-oriented. For additional information please visit the LNE website: <a href="http://leadershipforanewera.com/" title="http:///">http://leadershipforanewera.com</a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><!--Creative Commons License--><!--<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" border="0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/3.0/us/80x15.png" /></a><br/>--><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-60728457845236837052009-08-27T11:08:00.006-04:002009-08-27T12:17:07.013-04:00Influence and social capital of 21st century leadersMy <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2009/08/four-fundamentals-of-networks.html">previous post</a> summarized "<a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2009/08/four-fundamentals-of-networks.html">four fundamentals of networks</a>" with special emphasis on the context of leadership. Today I'll take a closer look at the foundation of the four fundamentals: personal influence. This foundation is highlighted in the bottom two quadrants below, which share a network focus on influential positions and roles:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHBRIENiCvZBRKQqrFQLPF6TvvqsEf29AdiCDCq79G6qQXMfL0m4k3s82yvtF6O12ptZB3diZ5ns_FwGV3Jpx8z380-9hPxUc_U5-3Mi2N2xzdLUPXKUqFlMHvd5ERydDfGNijUg/s1600-h/four-fundamentals-of-networks-bottom-half.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHBRIENiCvZBRKQqrFQLPF6TvvqsEf29AdiCDCq79G6qQXMfL0m4k3s82yvtF6O12ptZB3diZ5ns_FwGV3Jpx8z380-9hPxUc_U5-3Mi2N2xzdLUPXKUqFlMHvd5ERydDfGNijUg/s400/four-fundamentals-of-networks-bottom-half.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374661589688603458" border="0" /></a>These two quadrants provide a good foundation for at least a couple reasons:<br /><br />First, most of us naturally equate leadership with positions of personal influence. In their excellent article "<a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2006/02/social-capital-of-twenty-first-century.html">Social Capital of Twenty-First Century Leaders</a>," Dan Brass and David Krackhardt begin by saying, "Accomplishing work through others has always been the essence of leadership"; later in the chapter they simplify this to "Influence is the essence of leadership." As I summarized in <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2006/02/social-capital-of-twenty-first-century.html">this post</a>, Brass and Krackhardt then describe how aspiring leaders can use social networks to gain as much influence as quickly as possible. (Their article really is outstanding, FYI.)<br /><br />Second, <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2008/06/holy-trinity-of-network-power.html">centrality</a> and <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2005/01/structural-holes-part-one.html">structural holes</a>--the network concepts underlying the highlighted two quadrants--are the two most intuitive notions of network structure. If you find "structural holes" less intuitive than "centrality," then just substitute "clustering" in place of "structural holes." Clustering refers to groups, structural holes to the gaps between groups: Just like foreground and background, they define each other in complementary partnership.<br /><br />The topic of personal influence in social networks gets lots of attention. For example, this announcement crossed my desk last week: "'Influence is the future of media'. Influence is the hottest topic in marketing, advertising, media and social media today. Find out how to tap the power of influence." It's not too late to sign up for <a href="http://www.futureofinfluencesummit.com/">http://www.futureofinfluencesummit.com/</a>.<br /><br />Another view of influence and social networks crossed my desk a month ago: <a href="http://research.yahoo.com/Duncan_Watts">Duncan Watts</a>, Columbia sociologist and principal research scientist for Yahoo, told <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/122/is-the-tipping-point-toast.html?page=0%2C0">Fast Company</a> magazine his opinion of the idea that a subgroup of "influentials" is largely responsible for trend-setting: "It sort of sounds cool, but it's wonderfully persuasive only for as long as you don't think about it." Later in the article, Watts concludes: "If society is ready to embrace a trend, almost anyone can start one--and if it isn't, then almost no one can."<br /><br />Are these views of influence hopelessly at odds? Perhaps not. As I explore that, I'll move to the top half of the four fundamentals of networks.<br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><!--Creative Commons License--><!--<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" border="0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/3.0/us/80x15.png" /></a><br/>--><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-21049744503983322009-08-18T09:33:00.009-04:002009-08-19T18:22:55.036-04:00Four fundamentals of networks<a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2009/05/leadership-for-new-era.html">Claire Reinelt</a> and I just contributed a chapter, "Social Networks," to appear in <span style="font-style: italic;">Political and Civic Leadership</span>, edited by <a href="http://www.academy.umd.edu/People/facultyStaffindividual.asp?DBID=117">Richard Couto</a> and produced by <a href="http://www.sagepub.com/">Sage Publications</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Political and Civic Leadership</span> provides a comprehensive undergraduate-level overview of the field of leadership and includes 100 chapters in two volumes. We are happy to be included in an all-star cast of contributors (academics and practitioners of leadership); and we are also happy to be done!<br /><br />Richard has structured the book as a reference, with each chapter standing on its own, so that readers can flip to a topic of interest (e.g., "decisions," "ethics," "globalization," "philanthropy") without having to read the preceding 500 pages. Nevertheless, there is an overarching structure to the 100 chapters that is not alphabetical. They are divided into these 11 thematic sections:<br /><ol><li>Introduction To Politics And Civic Leadership</li><li>Philosophy And Theories Of Political And Civic Leadership</li><li>Purposes Of Political And Civic Leadership</li><li>The Failure Of Politics</li><li>The Processes Of Political And Civic Leadership</li><li>The Institutions Of Political And Civic Leadership</li><li>The Contexts Of Public Leadership</li><li>The Psychology Of Public Leadership</li><li>The Tasks And Tools Of Political And Civic Leadership</li><li>The Competencies Of Public Leadership</li><li>Depictions Of Public Leadership</li></ol>Our chapter will appear in Section 9: "The Tasks and Tools of Political and Civic Leadership."<br /><br />The writing process helped us to deepen the foundations of our framework of <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2009/05/new-resource-on-leadership-networks.html">four kinds of leadership networks</a>. We considered three different perspectives, each of which describes a different set of four fundamentals of networks:<br /><br /><a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2007/07/best-sna-book-ever-by-kilduff-and-tsai.html">Kilduff and Tsai</a> describe four orienting concepts of network thinking:<br /><ul><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Embeddedness</span>: How are organizations and behavior influenced by social relations?<br /></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Social Capital</span>: What is the value of a person's connections to others?<br /></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Centrality</span>: What is the influence of a person according to his position?<br /></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Structural Holes</span>: Where are there gaps between distinct social groups?<br /></li></ul><a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2009/05/new-resource-on-leadership-networks.html">Borgatti and Foster</a> describe four primary aspects of the network paradigm, based on the following two questions: First, Do we care more about improving performance internally, or expanding impact externally? Second, Do we care more about the structural position of individuals, or the flow of communication? These priorities give us four categories:<br /><ul><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Social access to resources</span>: Focused on communication flow and internal performance<br /></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Structural capital</span>: Focused on network position and internal performance<br /></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Environmental shaping</span>: Focused on network position and external impact<br /></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Contagion</span>: Focused on communication flow and external impact<br /></li></ul><a href="http://link-to-results.com/">In our work</a>, we have encountered four main types of leadership networks:<br /><ul><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Peer leadership networks</span>: Focused on building trust among leaders<br /></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Organizational leadership networks</span>: Focused on leveraging network position<br /></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Field-policy leadership networks</span>: Focused on shaping the environment<br /></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Collective leadership networks</span>: Focused on unleashing innovation<br /></li></ul>Each of the above "four fundamentals of networks" is a list that stands on its own. In the process of writing our chapter for Sage, we synthesized them all into this chart:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9v0frT0SIew9dS4dWold5hM9GMbqIEnYT7ivNNPwPYquS8-s-KZuOBDF6Xpt5iS3LwHWQXgbDatuEb8-qYNePY0TmFp3fES8j6GVIN6BnCVk8ePv-gN6O2Fpq2nzyywPV1-r1MQ/s1600-h/four-fundamentals-of-networks.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9v0frT0SIew9dS4dWold5hM9GMbqIEnYT7ivNNPwPYquS8-s-KZuOBDF6Xpt5iS3LwHWQXgbDatuEb8-qYNePY0TmFp3fES8j6GVIN6BnCVk8ePv-gN6O2Fpq2nzyywPV1-r1MQ/s400/four-fundamentals-of-networks.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371739027192727458" border="0" /></a><br />What does all that mean? Mostly these two things: (1) more blogging from me soon, with case studies from each of the quadrants above, and (2) pondering why the above four quadrants do not correspond to my beloved "<a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2008/06/holy-trinity-of-network-power.html">holy trinity of network power</a>," nor to the esteemed standard text <span style="font-style: italic;">SNA: Methods and Applications</span> by <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2005/05/stanley-wasserman-and-visible-path.html">Wasserman</a> and Faust.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-91583747316284083242009-07-02T14:19:00.004-04:002009-07-02T16:18:39.015-04:00New Yorker vs Wired: Is Free the Future?This week's <a href="http://newyorker.com/">New Yorker</a> has a fun piece by <a href="http://malcolmgladwell.com/">Malcolm Gladwell</a>, "<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2009/07/06/090706crbo_books_gladwell?yrail">Priced to Sell: Is Free the Future?</a>" in which he takes on <a href="http://www.thelongtail.com/">Chris Anderson</a>'s new book: <span style="font-style: italic;">Free: The Future of a Radical Price</span>.<br /><br />Chris Anderson is the editor of <a href="http://www.wired.com"><span style="font-style: italic;">Wired</span></a> and is famous for coining the phrase "<a href="http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html">Long Tail</a>." He blogs at <a href="http://thelongtail.com/">http://thelongtail.com</a> and most recently posted, "<a href="http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2009/06/dear-malcolm-why-so-threatened.html">Dear Malcolm: Why So Threatened?</a>"<br /><br />I rather enjoy it when the <span style="font-style: italic;">New Yorker</span> takes a smack at <span style="font-style: italic;">Wired</span>. Back in 2006, John Cassidy wrote a NYer article "<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/07/10/060710crbo_books1">Going Long: In the new “long tail” marketplace, has the blockbuster met its match?</a>" in which he critiqued <span style="font-style: italic;">The Long Tail</span> (i.e., the book by Chris Anderson).<br /><br />That article by John Cassidy remains my all-time favorite description of Webonomics (especially in terms of learning a lot by reading a little). I highly recommend Cassidy's and Gladwell's articles as a matched set.<br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><!--Creative Commons License--><!--<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" border="0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/3.0/us/80x15.png" /></a><br/>--><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-19597641215203564842009-06-29T15:45:00.002-04:002009-06-29T15:54:28.281-04:00Tweet of submission: @behoppe<a href="http://twitter.com/creinelt">Claire Reinelt</a> has won me over. My first <a href="https://twitter.com/behoppe">tweet</a> is this <a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/f/frederickd134373.html">quote from Frederick Douglass</a>:<br /><blockquote>"Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them."</blockquote><span style="font-size:78%;"><!--Creative Commons License--><!--<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" border="0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/3.0/us/80x15.png" /></a><br/>-->This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-27590699935586480822009-06-25T09:18:00.002-04:002009-06-25T11:05:51.172-04:00Following the world's greatest RSS feedThank you <a href="http://twitter.com/b0jangles">Paul Toms</a> for sharing your Twitter experiences and other reminisces in response to my last post. I like the Will Leitch article ("<a href="http://deadspin.com/5299789/why-twitter-is-more-fun-the-less-you-use-it">Why Twitter is more fun the less you use it</a>") and your quote from it: "Twitter is the world's greatest RSS feed."<br /><br />Like Paul and Will, I am a fan of RSS. (For those unfamiliar with RSS, it is New Media's version of the AP News Wire; see "<a href="http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english">RSS in plain English</a>" by Common Craft.)<br /><br />Much like Will, I find RSS (e.g., Twitter) to be more fun the less I use it. But my idea of "using" is different than Will's. I consider reading to be "using" whereas Will considers reading to be "not using."<br /><br />A couple examples of how I use and follow RSS feeds without reading:<br /><ul><li>Over the years I have subscribed to hundreds of blogs and other RSS feeds using <a href="http://www.newsgator.com/">NewsGator</a>. Rather than read them, I simply let NewsGator dump them into my Outlook mailbox. Once the content is in my mailbox, my cheap mongo-hard-drive and my free desktop search software (<a href="http://www.copernic.com/">Copernic</a>) keep all that content ready for me. For example, now that I am curious to read about Twitter, I can search my hard drive for "Twitter" and see that <a href="http://novaspivack.typepad.com/nova_spivacks_weblog/2009/02/how-twitter-makes-things-faster-a-timeline.html">Nova Spivak blogged a few months ago</a> that "In the world of Twitter things happen in real-time, not Internet-time. It's even faster than the world of the 1990's and the early 2000's." He goes on to chronicle the acceleration of our lives, concluding: "Twitter is simply faster.... Twitter may overcome the asynchronous nature of the Web. Even search may go 'real-time.'" Having waited 4 months for the moment when I actually care to read Nova's post, I will wait a while longer before I respond to his hope that Twitter will help us "overcome the asynchronous nature of the Web" and make "search go 'real-time'"--two statements that beg for rebuttal.<br /></li><li>Another one of my favorite uses of RSS is the right sidebar of the <a href="http://link-to-results.com">Leadership Networks</a> site, "Recently Noted Links." The links in this sidebar come from an RSS feed that provides <a href="http://link-to-results.com/">Leadership Networks</a> with a non-stop news-ticker of content that is relevant and useful to the audience of the site. Furthermore, this one RSS feed represents the synthesis of hundreds of RSS feeds. You can glimpse under the hood <a href="http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.info?_id=QCO8G8Et3hGKAHjtdfQQIA">here</a>. It's similar to the previous example, except that the content scrolls down the <a href="http://link-to-results.com/">Leadership Networks</a> sidebar instead of getting archived to my hard drive. I guess the content of that sidebar is my version of what Nova Spivak calls "real-time search." Because I see it that way, the content is presented to embody (not to overcome) the asynchronous nature of the Web: It's available but not interrupting, there when you want it.<a href="http://link-to-results.com/"><br /></a></li></ul><span style="font-size:78%;">This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-64362104947385534292009-06-23T13:53:00.007-04:002009-06-23T18:22:07.356-04:00Twitter: timing is everything...?The majority of my clients and colleagues are using it, but I have not uttered the word until now: <span style="font-size:85%;">TWITTER</span>. I was convinced to break my silence when I saw <span style="font-style: italic;">Time </span>magazine: "<a href="http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1902604,00.html">How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live</a>."<br /><br />Here is my version of <span style="font-style: italic;">Time</span>'s story: Twitter does to texting what blogging did to email.<br /><br />So let's get to the root of the matter: Texting. John Cassidy says it better than I can in the October 2008 <span style="font-style: italic;">New Yorker</span>, "<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2008/10/20/081020crbo_books_menand">Thumbspeak: Is Texting Here to Stay</a>?" Summary of Cassidy: We may be helplessly addicted to crackberries etc, but we are not addicted to typing words with numeric keypads. As soon as we all have QWERTY in our palms, we will then do away with the 140-character barrier and, with that, all the quirks that make txt msgs distinct from emails will quickly die a natural death.<br /><br />If texting becomes indistinguishable from emailing (grant me that hypothetical just for a moment) how then will Tweeting differ from blogging? I am curious.<br /><br />[<span style="font-style: italic;">The editor pauses... almost publishes the post... then takes a phone call from a <a href="http://www.etheoreal.com/">colleague</a> with more Twitter stories. A change of heart occurs.</span>]<br /><br />No, wait, I have glossed over something fundamental: Timing. Words have rhythm. Even if my version of the Twitter story is technically true (which I think it is), it misses the whole timing thing. That is a big deal, experientially if not technically.<br /><br />Comments, anyone?<br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-67400827751515436332009-06-22T09:49:00.009-04:002009-06-22T15:11:30.366-04:00Beginner's mind and collective intelligence<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.clker.com/cliparts/d/6/1/1/119498631918056439birthday_cake.svg.med.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px;" src="http://www.clker.com/cliparts/d/6/1/1/119498631918056439birthday_cake.svg.med.png" alt="" border="0" /></a>It's five years to the day since the <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2004/06/sharp-edges-of-networking.html">first post</a> on <span style="font-style: italic;">Connectedness</span>.<br /><br />An unspoken theme of those five years deserves recognition today: Beginner's Mind. I heard the phrase last September, when <a href="http://www.jg.org/folk/artists/fredsmall/fred_small.html">Fred Small</a> preached his very first sermon as the new senior minister at <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2006/07/network-healing-and-adaptability_10.html">my church</a>.<br /><br />Without Fred's flair for story-telling, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoshin">Wikipedia</a> still does a good job of explaining beginner's mind:<br /><blockquote>"Beginner's mind ... refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even when studying at an advanced level, just as a beginner in that subject would. The term is especially used in the study of Zen Buddhism and Japanese martial arts.<br /><br />"The phrase was also used as the title of Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki's book: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, which reflects a saying of his regarding the way to approach Zen practice: In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few."</blockquote>My fascination with beginner's mind often puts me in a bind: In my consulting and my teaching, I am usually invited to take the role of expert, the perspective that will reduce the confusion of many possibilities to the simplicity of the few and the best. Rarely am I invited to help experts take off the focused blinders of their hard-won experience.<br /><br />Beginner's mind is easily left behind and forgotten. For example, consider that exemplar of communal beginner's knowledge: Wikipedia. The scope and accuracy of this site are deservedly celebrated: <a href="http://ccs.mit.edu/rob.htm">Rob Laubacher</a>, Executive Director of the <a href="http://cci.mit.edu/">MIT Center for Collective Intelligence</a>, notes that Harvard medical school students prepare for exams using Wikipedia. But where do beginners turn for an introduction to anatomy, once Harvard medical students have claimed Wikipedia as their study guide? I posed that question to Rob. He said it was the first time he had heard the notion that Wikipedia was evolving into a collection of specialized expert-driven beginner-unfriendly articles. We wondered if my experience of Wikipedia being advanced and not at all beginner-friendly was related to the topic my students most want to learn: Web technology.<br /><br />To a point, perhaps. As a case study of how Wikipedia takes a simple non-Web idea and moves it beyond the grasp of beginners, consider the notion of probability as introduced by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probability">Wikipedia</a> and <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/477530/probability-theory">Encyclopedia Britannica</a>. Within its first few paragraphs, before citing a single concrete example of probability (e.g., flipping a coin, rolling dice), Wikipedia asserts that<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/1/2/1/121316b11477014922906de6d3ad89a0.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 127px; height: 26px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/1/2/1/121316b11477014922906de6d3ad89a0.png" alt="" border="0" /></a>which is easy for them to say. And I mean that truly. Once you have mastered such notation, explaining probability with a language as imprecise as English is really hard. Yet English is the language spoken most often by American students. So where are they to turn? Read <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/477530/probability-theory">Britannica</a> and see for yourself.<br /><br />When Wikipedia introduces probability as <img style="border-style: none; margin: 0pt 0pt -0.4em; display: inline; cursor: pointer; width: 127px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/1/2/1/121316b11477014922906de6d3ad89a0.png" alt="" border="0" /> is that what we mean by "collective intelligence," "working wikily," or "wikinomics"? Probably not. But you have to admit it makes sense for Wikipedia to explain probability to us in that way. Why should privileged experts with mastery of a valuable language such as probability theory make it easy for ignorant beginners to join them? The simplest answer is, "Because Encyclopedia Britannica pays them to." In conversations with Rob and others, I have heard of other <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2008/02/please-share-with-me-so-that-i-can-beat.html">sensible and even uplifting answers</a> to this question. And so I hope that ignorant and expert alike may be blessed with Beginner's Mind.<br /><br /><br />PS: See <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2008/12/22/081222ta_talk_surowiecki">James Surowiecki</a> for a good argument that high-quality information requires high-quality compensation.<br /><br />PPS: My last sustained post along these lines was <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2007/08/httpwebmathematicsnet.html">this one</a>, in reference to John Ziman's 1968 monograph <span style="font-style: italic;">Public Knowledge--An Essay Concerning the Social Dimension of Science</span>, specifically in the chapter "Community and Communications."<br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-13732842149482294142009-06-05T11:53:00.002-04:002009-06-05T12:13:06.602-04:00Organizational network analysis utility: UnleashedBack in November 2005 I <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2005/11/organizational-network-analysis.html">posted</a> an organizational network analysis utility — a spreadsheet to help process network survey data and load it into network analysis software like <a href="http://www.analytictech.com/ucinet6/ucinet.htm">UCINET</a> (which is one of my faves, just behind <a href="http://www.analytictech.com/Netdraw/netdraw.htm">NetDraw</a> and <a href="http://visone.info/">Visone</a>).<br /><br />Since then, the spreadsheet has been available via email. But I confess that I have more than occasionally fallen behind in emailing copies to those who have requested. Sorry about that.<br /><br />Now the spreadsheet is available by direct download from the <a href="http://link-to-results.com">Leadership Networks</a> site <a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=158&Itemid=71">here</a>. No more waiting for emails from me.<br /><br />Not coincidentally, I have been reading <a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=89&func=view&catid=3&id=7#12">posts by Claire Reinelt</a> about <a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=89&func=view&catid=3&id=7#12">unleashing leadership networks</a> — as opposed to sustaining them. Summarizing <a href="http://www.kansasleadershipcenter.org/people_home.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ed O'Malley</a> who directs the <a href="http://www.kansasleadershipcenter.org/people_home.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kansas Leadership Center</a>, Claire lists 7 practices for unleashing. The 3rd is "let go of the control."<br /><br />In other words, it's time for me to stop being a bottleneck! Below is more information about the spreadsheet utility, copied from the original Nov 2005 post:<hr />Organizational network analysis provides intuitively compelling pictures of how work really happens, giving us a handle on slippery intangibles that drive the future success of an enterprise.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=158&Itemid=71"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5122/452/200/California%20Computer%20TA.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Although this kind of intuitive analytical power has very wide appeal, its usefulness is limited right now by the unwieldy software tools currently available.<br /><br />Deep down, making good simple network pictures is inherently complicated, but using network visualization software doesn't have to be. Progress is being made every day. See the newly updated list of SNA software in the right sidebar for some great examples. (And please let me know if I'm missing something.)<br /><br />Even with the simplest of these tools, my non-technical clients often get hung up right away with the basic task of getting the data in. We power-users can easily forget how hard it was to build our first network, until we see someone else learning for the first time.<br /><br />Here's an Excel spreadsheet utility my clients and I find helpful. I now make it freely available, in the hopes that more people will enjoy the benefits of seeing the big picture of the network perspective.<br /><br />The spreadsheet includes three worksheets. One worksheet is the actual survey, which can be modified to suit the specific project. It automatically incorporates the names of the survey population into a drop-down list.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=158&Itemid=71"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5122/452/400/ONA%20spreadsheet%20survey.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>After distributing the survey via email, collected responses can be pasted in any order into a "compiled survey" worksheet:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=158&Itemid=71"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5122/452/320/ONA%20spreadsheet%20compiled.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Then an "automatrix" worksheet converts th<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=158&Itemid=71"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5122/452/200/ONA%20spreadsheet%20matrix.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>e compiled results into square matrices that can easily be pasted into available network analysis tools. The matrix calculator makes it easy to manage who opts in or out of the survey, and it provides access to multiple relationships.<br /><br />If you'd like a copy of the spreadsheet, which includes a copy of a great <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2005/09/from-archives-krackhardts-informal.html">California Computer case study</a> (permission granted by <a href="http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/krack/">David Krackhardt</a>), you can download it <a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=158&Itemid=71">here</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><!--Creative Commons License--><!--<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" border="0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/3.0/us/80x15.png" /></a><br/>--><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-37970130891204979522009-05-27T07:38:00.007-04:002009-05-28T11:12:56.004-04:00Searchable leadership networks bibliographyOur new <a href="http://link-to-results.com/">Link-to-Results</a> site features a <a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=55&Itemid=66">categorized searchable bibliography</a>. Of all the pages on the site, this one has generated by far the most feedback. Those whose work we overlooked have been kind to let us know and share with us.<br /><br />We attempted to synthesize many different fields of work in the bibliography (e.g., leadership development, business, sociology, mathematics). Rather than categorize our references according to their traditional fields, we categorized the references according to why we were interested in them:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_customproperties&task=tag&tagId=13&Itemid=66">Leadership Development</a></li><li><a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_customproperties&task=tag&tagId=18&Itemid=66">Performance & Innovation</a></li><li><a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_customproperties&task=tag&tagId=17&Itemid=66">Community & Social Change</a></li><li><a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_customproperties&task=tag&tagId=24&Itemid=66">Group Incentives</a></li><li><a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_customproperties&task=tag&tagId=15&Itemid=66">Evaluation</a></li><li><a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_customproperties&task=tag&tagId=14&Itemid=66">Social Capital</a></li><li><a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_customproperties&task=tag&tagId=19&Itemid=66">Social Networks</a></li><li><a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_customproperties&task=tag&tagId=12&Itemid=66">Network Building</a></li><li><a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_customproperties&task=tag&tagId=20&Itemid=66">Network Analysis</a></li><li><a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_customproperties&task=tag&tagId=25&Itemid=66">Software and Visualization</a></li></ul>Click on each link above and you can see our list of references for that category.<br /><br />Citing references, categorizing, naming things. These are essential to learning and yet get in the way too. I close with thoughts on naming things, quoting from the <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2007/07/memorable-km-advice-from-lao-tsu.html">Tao Te Ching</a>.<br /><hr /><table border="0"><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >The name that can be named is not the eternal name.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >The named is the mother of ten thousand things.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >These two spring from the same source but differ in name; this appears as darkness.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Darkness within darkness.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >The gate to all mystery.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >--Lao Tsu, Translated by Gia-Fu Feng.</span><br /></div></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" title="Tao Te Ching, Trans. by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English" href="http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-25th-Anniversary-Mandarin_chinese/dp/0679776192/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243424441&sr=8-1"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2FaWQMefW4KWGEHHmT8QxfEcOoSCo8dwrblTuqI3C9auhC7YSkfVA6tXMqu5lbl8QeTSIL-winXVm2T23KGOgvZ476w5N4zgh-naIAe0hN6AWX_c3NZI0wdxPS1w-Wd41_0K8Mg/s400/Tao-Gateway.jpg" alt="" width="100px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340467135721365058" align="right" border="0" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size:78%;"><!--<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" border="0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/3.0/us/80x15.png" /></a><br/>--><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-63436668767889310822009-05-26T16:10:00.005-04:002009-05-26T16:47:51.832-04:00Leadership for a New Era<span style="font-style: italic;">"You cannot solve problems with the same level of consciousness that was used to create them."</span><br /><div style="text-align: right;">--Albert Einstein<br /><br /></div><a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69&Itemid=75">Leadership for a New Era</a> is an initiative led by the <a href="http://leadershiplearning.org/">Leadership Learning Community</a> (LLC) with the mission to transform individuals and society by connecting the learning and practice of those who support leadership that is committed to promoting social and economic equity.<br /><br />Claire Reinelt, Director of Research and Evaluation at LLC, says the initiative is focused on "contributing to a shift in our current leadership thinking from a primary focus on the individual to approaches that support leadership in the context of collective work, networks, communities and social movements...."<br /><br />Today Claire invites you to share your leadership and learning. She <a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=89&func=view&catid=3&id=7#7">posts on the Leadership Networks discussion forum</a>:<br /><blockquote>"What do we know about leadership networks that others may not have considered or that they have a tendency to forget? As part of the Leadership for a New Era collaborative learning initiative, we want to share this wisdom with leadership programs and community initiatives, many of which seek to build social capital and network capacity. Here is what I came up with.<br /><ul><li>Successful networks are not sustained they are unleashed.</li><li>Remember that people are nodes in multiple networks.</li><li>Bridging across boundaries increases the probability of innovation.</li><li>Those on the periphery of a network offer pathways to new allies.</li></ul>"What is your wisdom?"</blockquote>I am especially fond of the first bullet! You can respond to Claire <a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=89&func=view&catid=3&id=7#7">here</a>.<br /><br />PS: For extra credit, I will add this to Claire's question: In reference to the Einstein quote above, what different level of consciousness do we need to solve (as opposed to create) our problems? For example: higher or lower? Someday, perhaps, I will post on why I personally favor the "lower" path.<br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><!--Creative Commons License--><!--<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" border="0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/3.0/us/80x15.png" /></a><br/>--><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-60087114663389831992009-05-22T10:23:00.006-04:002009-05-22T11:00:04.432-04:00New resource on leadership networksClaire Reinelt and I have just turned our paper "<a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2009/03/sna-and-leadership-networks.html">SNA and the Evaluation of Leadership Networks</a>" (to appear in <span style="font-style: italic;">Leadership Quarterly</span> (Elsevier)) into a full-blown website where practitioners of leadership development can find and share resources: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Flink-to-results%2Ecom&urlhash=6iXw&_t=disc_detail_link" target="_blank">http://link-to-results.com</a>. The site includes the paper, a tagged & searchable database of our bibliography, a discussion forum, case studies, and other resources related to leadership networks.<p></p><p>Below is one of the introductory pages on the site, "<a href="http://link-to-results.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76:kinds-of-leadership-networks&catid=47:welcome-text">Kinds of Leadership Networks</a>":<br /></p><hr />Leadership networks provide resources and support for leaders, and increase the scope and scale of impact leaders can have individually and collectively. We find it helpful to distinguish four types of leadership networks:<br /><div align="center"><table width="400" border="0"><tbody><tr><td><ul><li><a href="http://www.blogger.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51&Itemid=58">Peer leadership </a></li><li><a href="http://www.blogger.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=60">Organizational leadership </a></li></ul></td><td><ul><li><a href="http://www.blogger.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53&Itemid=61">Field-policy leadership </a></li><li><a href="http://www.blogger.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54&Itemid=62">Collective leadership</a></li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table></div>Our choice to focus on these four types of networks grows out of our experience as consultants with clients who fund, run, and catalyze leadership networks. Often our clients are interested in using network mapping or other tools to increase the awareness of leaders about the power of networks, to further catalyze relationships and connections, and to strengthen the capacity of the network to act collectively. There is also growing interest in knowing what difference leadership networks are making.<p>Our leadership network classification framework is also influenced by the work of Borgatti and Foster (2003), Plastrik and Taylor (2006), among others. We compare these three frameworks with the tables below: </p><table> <tbody><tr><td style="background-color: silver;" colspan="2" align="center"><b>Our Framework</b></td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(246, 246, 246);"> <td width="17%"><strong>Type of Network</strong></td> <td><strong>Description of Network</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="background-color: rgb(218, 175, 216);"><strong>Peer Leadership Network</strong></td> <td style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 242);"><p>Leaders who are connected through shared interests and commitments, shared work, or shared experiences. Leaders in the network share information, provide advice and support, learn from one another, and occasionally collaborate together.</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="background-color: rgb(127, 178, 204);"><strong>Organizational Leadership Network</strong></td> <td style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 242);"><p>Leaders who connect to increase performance. Often these are informal connections joining people who are employees of the same organization, such as when an employee seeks advice from a colleague other than her supervisor. </p></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="background-color: rgb(189, 228, 180);"><strong>Field-Policy Leadership Network</strong></td> <td style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 242);"><p>Leaders who have a shared commitment to influencing the world around them (e.g., the framing of a particular issue, underlying assumptions, and standards for how things get done). These networks make it easier for leaders to find common ground, mobilize support, and influence policy and the allocation of resources. </p></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="background-color: rgb(251, 249, 168);"><strong>Collective Leadership Network</strong></td> <td style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 242);"><p>People who self-organize around a common cause. Network members exercise leadership locally and sometimes connect on a large scale. These networks may be driven by a desire to achieve a specific goal, or simply by the desire of each member to belong to something larger than oneself.</p></td> </tr> </tbody></table><p>Borgatti and Foster approach networks with a more conceptual emphasis than ours. They present a very broad network paradigm within a two-by-two matrix. We highlight below how the four quadrants of their matrix correspond most closely to our framework of four types of leadership networks: </p><table> <tbody><tr><td style="background-color: silver;" colspan="4" align="center"><b>Borgatti and Foster (2003)<b></b></b></td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(246, 246, 246);"> <td colspan="2" rowspan="2" valign="top"><br /></td> <td colspan="2" valign="top"><strong>Goal used to explain network</strong></td> </tr> <tr style="background-color: rgb(246, 246, 246);"> <td valign="top">Actor performance evaluation </td> <td valign="top">Properties of resource diffusion</td> </tr> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="background-color: rgb(246, 246, 246); width: 10%;" valign="top"><strong>Mechanism used to explain network</strong></td> <td style="background-color: rgb(246, 246, 246); width: 10%;" valign="top">Structural position of actors in network</td> <td style="background-color: rgb(127, 178, 204);" valign="middle"><strong>Structural Capital</strong><br />(Organizational)</td> <td style="background-color: rgb(189, 228, 180);" valign="middle"><strong>Environmental Shaping</strong><br />(Field-Policy)</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="background-color: rgb(246, 246, 246);" valign="top">Flow of resources through ties</td> <td style="background-color: rgb(218, 175, 216);" valign="middle"><strong>Social access to resources</strong><br />(Peer)</td> <td style="background-color: rgb(251, 249, 168);" valign="middle"><strong>Contagion</strong><br />(Collective)</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>Plastrik and Taylor's <em>Net Gains</em> handbook speaks directly to practitioners (network builders) seeking social change. Their framework also maps neatly onto ours: </p><table><tbody><tr><td style="background-color: silver;" colspan="4" align="center"><b>Plastrik and Taylor (2006)</b></td></tr><tr><td style="background-color: rgb(246, 246, 246);"><br /></td><td style="background-color: rgb(218, 175, 216);"><strong>Connectivity Network</strong><br />(Peer)</td><td style="background-color: rgb(127, 178, 204);"><strong>Alignment Network</strong><br />(Organizational)</td><td style="background-color: rgb(189, 228, 180);"><strong>Production Network</strong><br />(Field-Policy)</td></tr><tr><td style="background-color: rgb(246, 246, 246);"><strong>Definition<br /></strong></td><td style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 242);">Connects people to allow easy flow of and access to information and transactions</td><td style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 242);">Aligns people to develop and spread an identity and collective value proposition<br /></td><td style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 242);">Fosters joint action for specialized outcomes by aligned people<br /></td></tr><tr><td style="background-color: rgb(246, 246, 246);"><strong>Desired Network Effects<br /></strong></td><td style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 242);">Rapid growth and diffusion, small-world reach, resilience<br /></td><td style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 242);">Adaptive capacity, small-world reach, rapid growth and diffusion<br /></td><td style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 242);">Rapid growth and diffusion, small-world reach, resilience, adaptive capacity<br /></td></tr><tr><td style="background-color: rgb(246, 246, 246);"><strong>Key Task of Network Builder<br /></strong></td><td style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 242);">Weaving-help people meet each other, increase ease of sharing and searching for information<br /></td><td style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 242);">Facilitating-helping people to explore potential shared identity and value propositions</td><td style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 242);">Coordinating- helping people plan and implement collaborative actions</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The fundamental goal of our framework is to help practitioners of leadership development - to explain when and how to use social network analysis as an evaluation and capacity-building tool.<br /><br />All people who are dedicated to developing and supporting the emergence of leadership must understand how to create, develop, and transform leadership networks. We hope our work will inspire more evaluation research on leadership networks and on how to harness and use the power of social network analysis for the collective good. </p><span style="font-size:78%;"><!--Creative Commons License--><!--<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" border="0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/3.0/us/80x15.png" /></a><br/>-->This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-59547663391235123392009-05-14T17:00:00.006-04:002009-05-15T11:25:17.642-04:00Student leadership: thank you Sidney EfromovichCollaborating with <a href="http://www.cfar.com/html/aboutcfar_op_welch.html">Nat Welch</a> of <a href="http://www.cfar.com/html/index.html">CFAR</a> has taught me the virtues of Found Pilots and the <a href="http://www.cfar.com/html/focusareas_campaignapproach.html">Campaign Approach to Change</a> -- the progress you seek already exists as deviant behavior within the present moment.<br /><br />I was "lucky" (I keep telling myself) to find lots of deviant behavior among my most recent cohort of students at Boston University. For example, the most popular student project featured a wonderfully deviant title: "<a href="http://webwhompers.net/story.php?title=ben-timmins-worked-a-ton-and-all-he-got-was-this-website-">Ben Timmins worked a ton, and all he got was this website</a>."<br /><br />My favorite found pilot was the unauthorized work of one <a href="http://www.efromovich.com/Sidney_Efromovich/Welcome.html">Sidney Efromovich</a>, BU '09, founder of the <a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/908701/sid_efromovich_saving_the_world_one.html?cat=49">Hug Don't Hate Movement</a>. Starting from day one, Sidney typed all my lectures into an encyclopedic set of Web pages. The whole semester -- every example I explained, every diagram I drew, every definition, equation, formula -- all of it Sidney not only included in his site but also improved in the process.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYS8KulMeahkDgWaB6XcfNScxqfH81vkI_nQ9lbi-q46VvRFGV6_jo3sQwxbHQ_3G7d9cee2wTEsgVkcBV8qKIv7KzZ_1jV8Og4iamlkPae07mPJP6U-Q0dnZVSZtK4TxvNXN2-w/s1600-h/sid-cs103-notes.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYS8KulMeahkDgWaB6XcfNScxqfH81vkI_nQ9lbi-q46VvRFGV6_jo3sQwxbHQ_3G7d9cee2wTEsgVkcBV8qKIv7KzZ_1jV8Og4iamlkPae07mPJP6U-Q0dnZVSZtK4TxvNXN2-w/s400/sid-cs103-notes.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335787802310496306" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Having worked 3 years (a lifetime?) to develop a beginner-friendly and conceptually rigorous curriculum for the undocumented field of <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2007/08/httpwebmathematicsnet.html">Web Science</a>, I am very grateful to Sidney for so artfully, faithfully recording our spring 2009 improvisation on that theme. I am even more grateful to Sidney for giving me every artifact of his Web site as a parting gift. An honor and a privilege to have worked with you, Sidney!<br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-63769620635402305712009-03-23T11:22:00.003-04:002009-03-24T11:12:36.937-04:00SNA and Leadership NetworksClaire Reinelt and I are pleased to share our paper, "<a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/articles/SNA%20and%20Leadership%20Networks%20%28LQ-2010%29.pdf">Social Network Analysis and the Evaluation of Leadership Networks</a>, " which is due for publication in a special issue of <a href="http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/620221/description#description"><span style="font-style: italic;">Leadership Quarterly</span></a> (Elsevier) on the topic of evaluating leadership. Look for it on news stands in early 2010.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Social Network Analysis and the Evaluation of Leadership Networks </span><span>(<a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/articles/SNA%20and%20Leadership%20Networks%20%28LQ-2010%29.pdf">PDF</a>)</span><br /></div><table style="text-align: left; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" border="0" cellpadding="20"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="mailto:bruce@connectiveassociates.com">Bruce Hoppe, PhD</a><br /><a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a></td><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="mailto:claire@leadershiplearning.org">Claire Reinelt, PhD</a><br /><a href="http://leadershiplearning.org/">Leadership Learning Community</a></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-weight: bold;">Abstract</span><br />Leadership development practitioners have become increasingly interested in networks as a way to strengthen relationships among leaders in fields, communities, and organizations. This paper offers a framework for conceptualizing different types of leadership networks and uses case examples to identify outcomes typically associated with each type of network. One challenge for the field of leadership development has been how to evaluate leadership networks. Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a promising evaluation approach that uses mathematics and visualization to represent the structure of relationships between people, organizations, goals, interests, and other entities within a larger system. Core social network concepts are introduced and explained to illuminate the value of SNA as an evaluation and capacity-building tool.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Table of Contents</span><br /><table border="0"><tbody><tr><td>Introduction</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Classifying Leadership Networks</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>Introducing Social Network Analysis</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>Evaluating Leadership Networks</td><td>8</td></tr><tr><td>Peer Leadership Networks</td><td>10</td></tr><tr><td>Organizational Leadership Networks</td><td>14</td></tr><tr><td>Field-Policy Leadership Networks</td><td>19</td></tr><tr><td>Collective Leadership Networks</td><td>24</td></tr><tr><td>Issues and Risks of SNA</td><td>28</td></tr><tr><td>Future research</td><td>33</td></tr><tr><td>Conclusion</td><td>36</td></tr><tr><td>Bibliography</td><td>37</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Full Paper <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/articles/SNA%20and%20Leadership%20Networks%20%28LQ-2010%29.pdf">here</a>.<br /><br />It has been great to work with Claire on this paper, and we are grateful to the folks at <span style="font-style: italic;">Leadership Quarterly</span> for providing us with helpful editorial suggestions and generous permission to post this version of the paper.<br /><br />Stay tuned for posts about specific excerpts & themes of the paper...<br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><!--Creative Commons License--><!--<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" border="0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/3.0/us/80x15.png" /></a><br/>--><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-38988326618042549222009-03-10T12:43:00.005-04:002009-03-10T13:03:19.893-04:00Evil-Doers at Sunbelt in San DiegoTomorrow I fly to San Diego to attend <a href="http://www.insna.org/sunbelt/index.html">Sunbelt</a>, the annual SNA extravaganza.<br /><br />The keynote address, by <a href="http://www.soc.ucla.edu/people/faculty?lid=592">Phillip Bonacich</a>, is "Using Social Networks for Evil":<br /><blockquote>"Many uses of the network approach in sociology involve pro-social behavior.... Yet, individuals use the networks they are involved in for their own selfish and malign purposes....<br /><br />"As those who have studied social dilemmas have demonstrated, anti-social behavior can be fun and profitable.<br /><br />"What I wish to explore in this talk is one form of anti-social behavior, one that I have been thinking about recently - the exploitation of the weak and dependent in networks of social exchange and violations of the norm of reciprocity."</blockquote>I am looking forward to hearing more about that! And perhaps I will meet some of you (readers) in San Diego this week.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-75994645327550498492009-02-20T10:19:00.005-05:002009-02-20T11:21:44.082-05:00Role ecologies in online networks: Gleave, Welser, Lento, SmithMarc Smith, who until recently was chief sociologist in residence at Microsoft, writes a notable blog at <a href="http://www.connectedaction.net/">http://www.connectedaction.net</a>. A couple weeks ago Marc posted this award-winning paper, co-authored by Eric Gleave, Howard "Ted" Welser, and Tom Lento: “<a title="A conceptual and operational definition of "Social Role" in Online Community" href="http://www.connectedaction.net/2009/02/02/best-paper-at-hicss-42-a-conceptual-and-operational-definition-of-social-role-in-online-community/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/HICSS_42/BestPapers42/DigitalMedia/ScoailSpaces.pdf');" target="_blank">A conceptual and operational definition of 'Social Role' in Online Community</a>”. It's a great piece of work.<br /><br />One of the stated goals of the paper is to encourage future research into "the analysis of communities as role ecologies."<br /><br />As my contribution to that goal, I'd like to point out another notable paper: “<a href="http://www.cmu.edu/joss/content/articles/volume2/JohnsonBorgatti.html">Network Role Analysis in the Study of Food Webs: An Application of Regular Role Coloration</a>” published by Johnson, Borgatti, Luczkovich and Everett in 2003.<br /><br />Johnson et al also state their goal clearly: "With this paper we hope to begin a dialogue between the fields [of ecosystem ecology and social network analysis], by applying advanced social role theory and methods to the study of food webs. "<br /><br />I am a bit puzzled that those who would encourage future research into the analysis of communities as role ecologies do not cite the work that actual ecologists are doing in network role analysis. Perhaps if I knew more sociology or more ecology I would appreciate the reasons for this.<br /><br />However it works out, it would be fitting if two different camps researching "role ecologies" were to find themselves at a loss to cross-fertilize. For as we celebrate the extended 200th birthday of Charles Darwin, author of "<a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=japWMUH1i5UC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22on+the+origin+of+species%22+darwin&client=firefox-a">On the Origin of Species</a>," let us note that one of the most practical definitions of a species is this: a population of organisms that can create offspring with their cohorts but not with anyone else. In other words, once a species comes to exist, never again will it cross-fertilize with other species. The result is Darwin's famous "Tree of Life," the one and only figure in his most famous book:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/darwin/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://darwin-online.org.uk/converted/published/1859_Origin_F373/1859_Origin_F373_fig02.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>As I learned while reading <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/science/10evolution.html?_r=1&scp=8&sq=science%20times&st=cse">Darwin's 200th essays in the NY Times</a> last week, the one-way branching of this tree -- the permanent disabling of cross-fertilizing -- seems to be closely related to the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/science/10species.html?ref=science">same genetic mechanisms that protect a species from disease</a>. (Intrepid cross-fertilizers should compare this to <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2008/08/network-clustering-power-of-reputation.html">Ron Burt's notes on network closure</a>.)<br /><br />A "tree" is also a very specific kind of network, described very nicely in a <a href="http://shr.aaas.org/networkmapping/Net_Mapping_Report.pdf?page=7">recent paper</a> by <a href="http://skyeome.net/wordpress/?p=168">Skye Bender-deMoll</a> on SNA & human rights. For those still celebrating Darwin's birthday, Bender-deMoll's definition is deliciously ironic: "Trees are hierarchies.... Pure trees are not found very often in naturally-occurring networks, but they are frequently used in classification systems or any situation where a strict hierarchy is imposed." Purposeful classification & hierarchy... just the things that Darwin so controversially discarded from the ecological world-view when he theorized the purposelessness of natural selection.<br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><!--Creative Commons License--><!--<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" border="0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/3.0/us/80x15.png" /></a><br/>--><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-9817588102686913112009-02-19T11:39:00.005-05:002009-02-19T12:23:13.744-05:00Six ways to make Web 2.0 work: Hoppe vs McKinsey<a href="http://www.cfar.com/html/aboutcfar_op_welch.html">Nat Welch</a> brought to my attention "<a href="http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Six_ways_to_make_Web_20_work_2294">Six ways to make Web 2.0 work</a>" in the <a href="http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/">McKinsey Quarterly</a> of Feb 2009.<br /><br />Here are the six ways (quoted verbatim):<br /><ol><li>The transformation to a bottom-up culture needs help from the top</li><li>The best uses come from users -- but they need help to scale</li><li>What's in the workflow is what gets used</li><li>Appeal to the particpants' egos and needs -- not just their wallets</li><li>The right solution comes from the right participants</li><li>Balance the top-down and self-management of risk</li></ol>Maybe it's because I am jealous of the clout wielded by McKinsey, but I do find the above list awfully repetitive. Someone please help me understand the important distinctions between numbers 1, 2, 5, and 6. I'll give the benefit of the doubt to 3 & 4 for being not repeats of 1, 2, 5, 6.<br /><br />In preparation for an upcoming Web 2.0 panel discussion hosted by the <a href="http://www.thebostonclub.com/about/activities_programs.cfm">Boston Club</a>, I made my own list--with inspiration & edits from Nat W.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bruce's Technology Tips</span><br /><br />Focus on your business goals and let those drive your technology strategy. For example, consider the following goals:<br /><ul><li>Sales</li><li>Marketing</li><li>Recruiting</li><li>Talent management</li><li>Business development</li><li>Innovation of core products & services</li></ul>Each one of those goals implies a different technology strategy, so it's important to know which goals matter as a basis for evaluating which technologies are helpful.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Web 2.0 Strategy Map</span><br /><br />Technology for business is largely about storing, finding, synthesizing, and communicating information. Think about how these different tasks relate to your specific business goals. The table below summarizes how some Web 2.0 technologies relate to finding and synthesizing information:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCGUd_Lw9UeiDdJkn73BFP2ab3guf_RAqNqakVeiz1SpRhijMcdrVYi5zdRuad0Pj4_ltUItMXcMdfdiph5GJn42ta8sZEWGqeAajpyX5-pGVpiXMerZuG7OIwq6Zbh0yK6UgKPg/s1600-h/web20-strategy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCGUd_Lw9UeiDdJkn73BFP2ab3guf_RAqNqakVeiz1SpRhijMcdrVYi5zdRuad0Pj4_ltUItMXcMdfdiph5GJn42ta8sZEWGqeAajpyX5-pGVpiXMerZuG7OIwq6Zbh0yK6UgKPg/s400/web20-strategy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304558008530342018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-38091568756908116972009-02-11T08:39:00.006-05:002009-02-11T09:45:58.491-05:00Ethics, Social Networks, and Web 2.0Earlier this week the <a href="http://hrps.org/">Human Resource Planning Society</a> hosted a <a href="http://hrps.org/hrps_103__workshopbro_3.pdf">convention on Social Networks and Web 2.0</a>. Nat Welch (<a href="http://www.cfar.com/html/aboutcfar_op_welch.html">CFAR</a>) and I co-led a session on "Organizational Barriers and Web 2.0: Don't just sit there; find something." Afterward we were part of a panel discussion on ethics, social networks, and Web 2.0.<br /><br />Somewhere there is a joke to be written about the time when a lawyer, a computational sociologist, and a human resource director all answer questions from St. Peter about ethics. Playing the straight man in the joke, my conversation with St. Peter will be a discussion about informed consent. Do people in my life know what they are getting into, and can they exercise choice based on that knowledge?<br /><br />In many ways, the "informed" part is far slipperier than the "consensual" part of this combination (e.g., dating). And so it is with social network surveys. Years ago I read <a href="http://connectedness.blogspot.com/2004/07/ethics-of-social-network-analysis.html">Borgatti and Molina's framework for ethics and SNA</a>, and their paper has been a trusted compass of mine ever since. Mostly, it reminds me to respect the privacy of my clients and their employees (i.e., to offer them informed consent). Based my experiences since then, I have made the following chart that summarizes how privacy and informed consent are so problematic in a network context:<br /><br /><table border="1"> <tbody><tr style="page-break-inside: avoid;"> <td colspan="3" valign="top"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center">Lack of Privacy in Network Surveys<b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="page-break-inside: avoid;"> <td valign="top"> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><br /></td> <td valign="top"> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Traditional survey<o:p></o:p></b></p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Network survey<o:p></o:p></b></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="page-break-inside: avoid;"> <td valign="top"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Questions:</span><br /><br />1<sup>st</sup>-person vs.<br />3<sup>rd</sup>-person </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="MsoNormal">Each individual reports information about himself. <o:p></o:p></p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="MsoNormal">Each individual reports information about others by name. <o:p></o:p></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="page-break-inside: avoid;"> <td valign="top"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Results:</span><br /><br />averages<br />vs.<br />specifics</td> <td valign="top"> <p class="MsoNormal">Responses are aggregated so that individual respondents and non-respondents cannot be distinguished.<o:p></o:p></p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="MsoNormal">The presentation of results reveals specific responses attributed to specific individuals.<o:p></o:p></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="page-break-inside: avoid;"> <td valign="top"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Visibility:</span><br /><br />informed consent<br />vs.<br />leap of faith</td> <td valign="top"> <p class="MsoNormal">Survey results allow each individual to compare himself silently with the group average. Each individual can then decide what to share about himself with whom.<o:p></o:p></p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="MsoNormal">Survey results expose how each individual is seen by others. Each individual has no ability to preview what others have said about him before it is published.<o:p></o:p></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table><br />For me the insight of the above chart is the separation of all three rows. Each of the them can be considered as an independent risk factor with its own unique set of mitigation strategies.<br /><br />All the LinkedIns and Facebooks of the world are tackling these three issues head-on (and surely more that I have not thought of).<br /><br />As for social network surveys, I am not aware of one that allows truly informed consent: the ability to preview what others say about you before consenting to publication of that information. Perhaps my readers can enlighten me.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7402079.post-15145444266886340612009-02-05T09:35:00.005-05:002009-02-05T11:25:26.772-05:00Lincoln and Darwin on Networks and Web 2.0<span style="font-style: italic;">"Online social tools are great weapons for world peace and unity."</span><br /><div style="text-align: right;">--Overheard at a discussion about LinkedIn, Blogs, and Twitter.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />How appropriate that peace and unity cross my desk as we approach the 200th birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin. Their historically coincidental births (12 Feb '09) and monumental legacies were brought to my attention by the latest cover of <span style="font-style: italic;">Smithsonian</span> magazine, <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/issue/February_2009.html">an issue I highly recommend</a>.<br /><br />Each of these great men speaks to the ages in a way that changes from era to era and from person to person. For me now, Lincoln shrewdly speaks of our sacred devotion to Liberty and equality as he leads the bloodiest war in American history:<br /><blockquote>"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure." (<a href="http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm">Read on.</a>)<br /></blockquote>Meanwhile, in one of the greatest discoveries of science, Darwin writes about the consequences of the simple truth that no one is created equal:<br /><blockquote>"As many more individuals of each species are born than can possibly survive; and as, consequently, there is a frequently recurrent struggle for existence, it follows that any being, if it vary however slightly in any manner profitable to itself, under the complex and sometimes varying conditions of life, will have a better chance of surviving, and thus be naturally selected. From the strong principle of inheritance, any selected variety will tend to propagate its new and modified form." (<a href="http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=TCwLAAAAIAAJ&dq=darwin+origin+of+species&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=VVi-I-VV2y&sig=1ZHxixRe7lW0H3GrdQUHJp566b0#PPA23,M1">Read on.</a>)</blockquote>Darwin writes reluctantly, forced by outside events into a public announcement of his work, which he kept secret for many years in part to avoid the backlash he knew it would generate.<br /><br />That backlash remains strong (at least in America), resulting in notions like intelligent design. Personally, I find intelligent design to be an absurd bastardization that dishonors both science and religion. And yet paradoxically I am continually tempted to take on the role of intelligent designer--pronouncing truths from the digital scriptures. I guess that's easier than emulating Lincoln or Darwin.<br /></div></div><span style="font-size:78%;"><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License</a> and is copyrighted (c) 2009 by <a href="http://connectiveassociates.com/">Connective Associates LLC</a> except where otherwise noted.</span><!--/Creative Commons License--><br /><!-- <rdf:rdf xmlns="http://web.resource.org/cc/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"><br /> <work about=""><br /> <license resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><br /> </work><br /> <license about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution"><permits resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks"><requires resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike"></license></rdf:RDF> -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0