"Social networks -- real social networks, not the online instantiations of them -- work best when the groups are relatively small, Dunbar's number is respected, and there's a level of insularity around any given group."
Agreed, and to add to your point, group identity is also a strong motivator for close-knit networks.
Forums are a good example of this. It's partly why I think communities (and the software they use) centred around a specific interest or activity will, for certain kinds of community, ultimately win over what we now call social networks.
It's the tools that are lacking: at the moment it seems far easier to set up a facebook group than work out what a community needs and provide it without technical knowledge.
(I have an interest in this area because tools for communities are what I left my job to work on: http://microco.sm).
Agreed, and to add to your point, group identity is also a strong motivator for close-knit networks.
Forums are a good example of this. It's partly why I think communities (and the software they use) centred around a specific interest or activity will, for certain kinds of community, ultimately win over what we now call social networks.
It's the tools that are lacking: at the moment it seems far easier to set up a facebook group than work out what a community needs and provide it without technical knowledge.
(I have an interest in this area because tools for communities are what I left my job to work on: http://microco.sm).