UPDATE 1: Similar article regarding Dunbar's Number.
11/13/2009
British anthropologist Robin Dunbar suggests that the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships is roughly one hundred fifty people. A stable social relationship is defined as one where an individual knows who each person is and how each person relates to every other person.
This got me thinking: With the rise of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, how does Dunbar's number apply to network-based social "communities"?
I have about three hundred "friends" on Facebook and roughly five hundred followers on Twitter.
Because I approve my Facebook friends, I have a working knowledge of who they are and some knowledge of how they link to my other friends.
My Twitter community is a completely different story. Other than a one hundred forty character biographic description, I know next to nothing about my Twitter followers.
Is the way we create relationships changing as a result of network-based social communities? Do we have too many "friends"? Can we effectively engage them all?
"People" by Lola Grace
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Related Random Thoughts
Twitter Likes and Dislikes
What Gordon Gekko Can Teach Us About Smartphones
The Perishable Mind
This got me thinking: With the rise of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, how does Dunbar's number apply to network-based social "communities"?
I have about three hundred "friends" on Facebook and roughly five hundred followers on Twitter.
Because I approve my Facebook friends, I have a working knowledge of who they are and some knowledge of how they link to my other friends.
My Twitter community is a completely different story. Other than a one hundred forty character biographic description, I know next to nothing about my Twitter followers.
Is the way we create relationships changing as a result of network-based social communities? Do we have too many "friends"? Can we effectively engage them all?
"People" by Lola Grace
Don't forget to sign up for Random Thoughts updates via email in the right margin.
Related Random Thoughts
Twitter Likes and Dislikes
What Gordon Gekko Can Teach Us About Smartphones
The Perishable Mind
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