Comments on: Did You Just Call Me a Crowd? http://www.socialtwister.com/2007/01/03/did-you-just-call-me-a-crowd/ Confessions of a Social Tools Architect Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:57:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.3 by: Carter Harkins http://www.socialtwister.com/2007/01/03/did-you-just-call-me-a-crowd/#comment-35406 Wed, 24 Jan 2007 05:34:31 +0000 http://www.socialtwister.com/2007/01/03/did-you-just-call-me-a-crowd/#comment-35406 I was under the impression that, so long as autonomy and freedom of expressing individual thought were safeguarded and encouraged, the integrity of a system that aggregated information (such as Amazon book reviews, or blog comments, for that matter) remains intact. The cascade effect or "group think", is usually avoided in a culture where dissenting points of view, when expressed intelligently or passionately, are allowed and honored as equally relevant. My point is that the way in which the information is collected and presented (in this case linearly) is not nearly as important as the environment within which it is created and consumed. Fostering this atmosphere is the responsibility of all good bloggers, and to that end, I love what your blog says: Would you like to contribute to the conversation? Ideas, arguments, and praise are all welcome." The linearity of conversation necessitates that one idea follows another. The natural devolutions and digressions of human interactions don't make us dumber or incapable of finding the smartest answers; in fact, finding wisdom in crowds often happens through seeming non-sequiturs and some good ol' rabbit chasing. Thanks for letting me contribute to the conversation. I was under the impression that, so long as autonomy and freedom of expressing individual thought were safeguarded and encouraged, the integrity of a system that aggregated information (such as Amazon book reviews, or blog comments, for that matter) remains intact. The cascade effect or “group think”, is usually avoided in a culture where dissenting points of view, when expressed intelligently or passionately, are allowed and honored as equally relevant. My point is that the way in which the information is collected and presented (in this case linearly) is not nearly as important as the environment within which it is created and consumed. Fostering this atmosphere is the responsibility of all good bloggers, and to that end, I love what your blog says: Would you like to contribute to the conversation? Ideas, arguments, and praise are all welcome.”

The linearity of conversation necessitates that one idea follows another. The natural devolutions and digressions of human interactions don’t make us dumber or incapable of finding the smartest answers; in fact, finding wisdom in crowds often happens through seeming non-sequiturs and some good ol’ rabbit chasing. Thanks for letting me contribute to the conversation.

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