Closing Statement

This research file has now come to an end, you have been able to see my initial thoughts, these development into ideas and then a process with gained results. I have gained a lot from this module of  Networks and Connectivity. I now completely understand how important and useful networks have become, how working together can gain success. Without my network of people answering my questions, giving me their opinions and filling out my surveys, I would have nothing. Doing this research file has also inspired me to start a new and improved personal blog, I've got really into updating this research file blog on a regular basis, so am going to translate that into my personal interest and hobbies. I will probably continue looking at this subject area of age, and try and get tickets to Vogue Festival and get and insight into the fashion industries views on age.

Understanding the Importance of Weak-Ties : 'The Strength of Weak Ties

"People weren't getting their jobs through their friends. They were getting them through their acquaintances. Why is this? Granovetter argues that it is because when it comes to finding out about new jobs -- or, for that matter, new information, or new ideas -- "weak ties" are always more important than strong ties. Your friends, after all, occupy the same world that you do. They might work with you, or live near you, and go to the same same churches, schools, or parties. How much, then, would they know that you wouldn't know? Your acquaintances, on the other hand, by definition occupy a very different world than you. They are much more likely to know something that you don't. To capture this apparent paradox, Granovetter coined a marvellous phrase: the strength of weak ties. Acquaintances, in short, represent a source of social power, and the more acquaintances you have the more powerful you are."

I think this book extract reiterates the importance of weak-ties in a generalised format. People we know, know people we know and the same things we know, so when finding a job the people we know would be un-benificial. This translates to networks using the same concept.

Book Extract: Malcolm Gladwell, 2001. The Tipping Point, How Little Things Can Make a Difference. New Edition. Little Brown & Co.

Constant Communication

From Martin Raymond's, The Trend Forcaster's Handbook I have learnt the importance of communicating constantly with your network, on a regular basis to encourage their enthusiasm and constant response back. So throughout my different networks I have infiltrated and created I have tried to keep constant updates, feedback and asked questions and opinions on a regular basis.

80/20

The '80/20' principle is also known as the 'Pareto Principle'. Vilfredo Pareto discovered that during the early part of the last century that 80 per cent of all land in Italy was owned by 20 per cent of the population. This pattern occurred also in how people worked, generated ideas and owned wealth. This pattern of the minority having or doing the majority follows in industrial categories and social activities. Networks follow this pattern; 20 per cent of members are responsible for 80 per cent of the generated ideas. The diagram depicts this 20 per cent of people put something in and get 80 per cent of the results. This pattern results in 'super-nodes' or 'clusters' as the 20 per cent become more visible through their generated ideas, they are then sourced by others to boost there own power through connections. Super-nodes become power networks in their own right and are used by brands and business to gain information. 

When developing my networks it would be a good idea as well as creating diverse weak-ties to attempt to source super-nodes or clusters.

Image: The 80/20 Rule of Social Media Tracking. 2011. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.techaffect.com/2011/05/11/the-8020-rule-of-social-media-tracking/. [Accessed 09 February 2012].

The Strength of Weak-Ties

Weak-tie contact within a network is another way of describing distant contacts. The further away one person is from another, the more useful the information becomes that is passed between them. This may seem counterintuitive but in theory it makes sense. Most people when asked who they would turn to if they were looking for a new job would reply with friends or family. however this is the wrong thing to do, by doing this you are less likely to tap into knowledge we could achieve from people of a distance. This is because people we know, know what we already know.

Living in 'homophilous' groups we access the same knowledge as the rest of the group, by removing yourself you develop a chance of accessing new knowledge from 'week-tie' acquaintances who share few things in common. Good networks should contain high numbers of weak-ties to generate this unique knowledge. 

Visualising my Network

From these systematic diagrams I began to visualise my networks in diagram form. This notebook scanning is only an initial sketch to enable myself to grasp the concepts and further development will be added:

In this diagram I am the central node (dot) and stemming from this point are the people  have connections with and how they are linked to one another. (This displays such a section of my network).

Image: Authors Own

Notebook Page

This scanning from my notebook on networks and connectivity presents the three different types of networks in diagram form.

Image: Authors Own

My Facebook Network

These diagrams were created using an App that visualises your Facebook network. They show the same results from different perspectives; you can see a very complex Collaborative (Decentralised) network. The diagrams are very complicated and crowded visuals which can be off-putting and unattractive. However, what this clutter does display is the enormous quantity of accessible people available to one person. I am at the centre of this abundance of names, and all the nodes, which in this case are people stem out of my central point. The nodes of people in this diagram are my Facebook 'friends' only, what this diagram does not include, is the ongoing nodes that stem from each stemming individual and interlink creating an ongoing and never-ending network. Making for a greater complexing diagram.

Although not very comprehensible, especially as unpleasant viewing in such a small size, they do display this vast network which is so readily available to most people. (If you click on the image it should enlarge). Just think; if this is what I actually have access to, what will all these people have access to and then all these people and then all these people and then......


Image: Authors own using MyFnetwork Facebook App