Community vs. Social Network

Thanks Mike,

I wasn't really expecting a response, given the vintage of the post. I do appreciate it.

I believe I understand your view. And for what it's worth, it makes good sense to me.

The only utility I can imagine to understanding community as I describe it, is so that we understand that our communications walk edges in a social network, and that those edges are in part qualified by the community in play. Communities differ in terms of the artifacts created, the communication channels employed, the supporting tools in play, and of course -- at root -- the passions that drive them. All of the latter will impact the transmission rate of a given message within a given community. As I'm confident you get, some messages are better suited to some communities (some channels, some formats, etc.) than others.

When I talk to my customers, or to my team, I talk about the characteristics of some networks versus others in those terms and often call out the characteristics of different communities to make the point. It seems to help with a few things.

Anyway, your work is awesome. I'm going through the book now.

Thanks again,

Bob.