Connect!

The concept that most intrigued me in this week’s readings was the power of computer networks to facilitate the flow of information among weakly tied groups, and the importance of such connections in providing access to diverse resources. This phenomenon was noted on both the individual level (Donath and Boyd - p.80), and the group level (Garton, Haythornthwaite, Wellman – p.79). In an almost counterintuitive way, it was pointed out that [while] “the number of strong ties an individual can maintain may not be greatly increased by communication technology, but the number of weak ties can increase substantially, resulting in an increase of available information and opportunities.” (Donath and Boyd - p.80) These attributes describe the benefits of a large, heterogeneous network.

This conjured in my mind the analogous biological importance of broadening the gene pool, of “cross pollinating” beyond one’s own immediate tribe in order to maximize the health of the human species, of the importance of diversity. Simply put, it’s healthy to connect to networks, people and ideas that come from outside your own existing “dense clusters” of strong ties.

Since most of the reading and thinking we have been doing to date has focused on how CMC affects individual communication dynamics, this change in perspective has been useful in terms of my thinking about creating a civic network. It’s made me think about the usefulness of such a platform to act as a hub to connect currently loosely connected, or disconnected groups. And how the health of the civic body could be improved through the strengthening of those connections.