When looking at Facebook and the rapid pace at which it has evolved, it is easy to say that it seems more is better. In his blog about the latest Facebook updates, Mark Zuckerberg emphasizes the need for integrating more features. Despite the addition of new and improved features to the website, the website has managed to maintain the same level of freshness and adaptation that is key to building stronger informal social networks, as outlined in the MITSloan article about the 6 Myths of Informal Networks. Two of the myths address the need for less of a focus on increased general communication between informal groups and the need for a more specialized form of communication.
In my own experiences I have found that it is not always effective to increase the amount of communication in order to create better networks. Through organizations/clubs I have joined, I have seen this concept through the tangled system of message blasting known as listserves. Most people online tend to send out messages based on whatever they feel to be the most important bit of news, and through listserves the good news tends to get mixed in with the overwhelming pile of useless information. In situations like this it is best to make sure that specific messages are being sent to the right people to make communication more efficient. No one wants their inbox to be inundated without an appropriate filter. While it is important to make sure people are informed, it is still necessary to make sure that the flow of information is not clogged and slowed down to the point that it is bottlenecked and decreases efficiency.
What Harry Means to Me
12 years ago
I totally agree. Take Twitter for example... it is only effective when you choose to log-on; only those current tweets from that day (or couple of days) are seen unless you log-on every day.
ReplyDeleteThat's why more and more Internet web sites are updating their program virsion to give users select favorite menus and filter unnecessary stuffs in their bulletin boards.
ReplyDeleteI like what you said about how sometimes there is too much communication and not the right kind. Like Twitter. I cannot understand this phenomeon because I don't want to know what people are doing every minute of the day. Also, with the litservs. One of the main reasons I quit clubs is because they clog up my inbox with all of their emails.
ReplyDeleteI had an exact the same experience as you about litservs. I was an officer for a club and received all my emails on my cell phone so I will be always updated. But what I ended up with is losing very important emails because of so many emails coming into my inbox. I guess filters are useful somewhat but what I think is more important is that senders of information make sure those information are useful to the receiver.
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