Chapter 2 - Node Community
The author mentions an incident during a political debate in which a single remark, taken out of on text, was quickly circulated through Facebook and Social Media. (EN: I'm not sure what point she was trying to make, unless to show that the potential for abuse is rampant, and that information can become easily distorted.)
What Is a Node Community?
In technology, a node is a computer on a network. It has resources that other computers can request, and can request information of other resources. Nodes often act as conduits that pass information from one computer to another - though in some computers on a network may communicate directly with no intermediaries.
Node "communities" are groups of nodes that work together to perform a task that requires more resources than a single node possesses. They often spawn in a spontaneous manner, and they share information and resources informally with one another, without a central source of information and control.
The power of a node, or a node community, is in its power and its connections: a single powerful computer may be able to execute a function more quickly than a less powerful computer, but when a large number of less powerful computers work together as a node community they can surpass the powerful machine.
Connectedness is a greater source of ability than power. Consider that firms could at one time ignore the complains of the little people - they were responsive to their "big" accounts (large and frequent purchases) but regarded the common customer as being barely worth paying attention to. Enter Twitter, which makes the voice of a small customer audible to millions of others through their connections, and firms then found the need to be responsive.
Power to Create Change and the Dangers of Misinformation
The power of the network to support righteous causes and spread truth is often lauded - but what is overlooked is that it has the power to support any cause and spread any information. She briefly mentions the way that "reply to all" has brought down a few sizable corporate and university networks - but this is more of a technical issue.
Another incident she mentions is that a person was "accidentally identified" as a suspect in a shooting spree, and the information spread far and wide before the mistake was uncovered and admitted. (EN: I'm not seeing the point, here. The traditional media have made similar mistakes and in some instances make deliberate misrepresentations to serve an agenda or at least sensationalize a story. So this is not unique to node communities and may in fact be less prone to occurring, as disinformation seldom gets very far.)
Disruption of Traditional Communication Models
Node communities can function as disruptive organizational structures, as they operate outside the formal structures and boundaries within organizations.
The control structures in hierarchal organizations were, in effect, buffers that were meant to slow down communication and invest sufficient time in considering a course of action - based on the notion that the way things are currently being done is just fine and any new idea threatens a status quo that is productive and comfortable.
The node community lacks controls - information can be spread and action taken very quickly because there is no governance and no need to build consensus and negotiate. And because the node community works faster than the bureaucracy, it wins out in a scenario where first-to-act preempts others from taking action.
(EN: What the author likely overlooks is that doing things without much consideration is not often successful as investing time in considering options before taking action. While I'm a fan of avoiding unnecessary delays, the panicked mob approach is seldom sustainable.)
The Value of Nodes and Node Communities in Organizations
The author lists a number of the "propositions" of nodes and node communities:
Efficient and Effective Flow of Information
The node community provides an open flow of information and access to resources, as opposed to creating obstacles or barriers among individuals that require proxies and authorization. She suggests that open communication would make bottlenecks obsolete because information can flow freely over the network. (EN: This is an ideal, which requires infinite capacity and infinite connections - consider traffic jams and internet congestion, both of which occur on networks where there is no central control.)
She also suggests that a node community decreases the amount of time wasted "waiting for orders" and increases productivity as the nodes that have capacity can volunteer themselves to the extent of their ability, and no-one is dependent on a central source to handle work assignments. (EN: Which is also an ideal, and one that has been problematic for many organizations - removing resource managers shifts workload management to each employee, and because there is not infinite capacity, prioritizing work becomes dysfunctional.)
The Expertise of the Whole Community
It's mentioned that the human network gives us access to expertise - each person is linked to others, who link to others, and so on. The notion of having "six degrees of separation" likely means that a person can, within a few connections, get in touch with a person who has the expertise they need to solve a given problem. (EN: This is actually a pretty interesting notion - but again, it means people must constantly be doing the work to help others connect, and that the experts who are reachable are willing and able to give time to anyone who asks.)
Nimbleness and Response to Change
The node community has the power to be dynamic and shift according to need, rather than rigidly conforming to chain of command and communication protocols. This makes them better able to adapt to changes in the environment in a rapid manner. (EN: Since I'm getting in the habit of offering counterpoints ... I'll mention that this property also gives the network an increased sensitivity and proclivity to panic.)
Real-Time Feedback and Dialogue
In traditional information, information is bottled up and it takes time to flow freely. In a node community it travels quickly. This is especially valuable in situations in which feedback is desired to refine and improve an action. People can respond right away, and their voice can be heard right away, and the necessary changes can be made rapidly.
Summary
(EN: This chapter's summary provides no additional insight or details.)