There have certainly been some interesting topics on this site—from the way, Google’s advertising network is organised, to the traction of being single on Facebook. And that brings me to following pictures on the right, which show two types of network, one that is organic and the other that is somewhat by design. The circular graph on top is a visual representation of who high school students hooked up with within the space of 18 months. It is probably very similar to the Facebook-model. The bottom chart seems equally erratic, though there is a clear point of origin at the bottom left. The shape is called a Brownian motion and is the way Andy Grove described Google’s strategy.

But what we see here is really the end-result. Communities and network usually start with a series of single actions that lead to connections between thoughts, between places, between people. And eventually you have some networks that may seem entirely chaotic and others that are somewhat elegant in their outcome. I should add that Eric Schmidt’s response to Grove’s comment was that there is also an underlying structure that grows with the “chaos,” a framework to support the grapevine if you will, and it is the same for a school or Facebook. A lot of things happen in chaotic environments, but they need an underlying structure to make sense.

This is my latest passion, understanding the structure that supports chaos and even embraces it. It is the new world, well new since a decade or so. This here post is a first of a few, discussing this topic. The structure is as follows. I will begin with some simple principles that surround communities, in my opinion. In a next post, I will look at underlying theories regarding communities and networks. This will be followed by a discussion about enabling technologies that facilitate this process on the internet. After this I will discuss paradoxes, there are in fact a few. I will then present some businesses and sites that are strong in this field and why.  At any point, another author is welcome to jump in with their own perspective, either through a post or a comment. Readers as well of course. I will adapt the content accordingly. I’m also interested in which type of businesses and activities do not support community and networks, and why.

Let’s start with some simple positive characteristics that I think communities have:

• create a place where people can express themselves freely, in mediums that makes sense
• allow information to easily go beyond the organisation
• do not abuse users with ridiculous rules or fees
• keep the structure minimal, unless your core(!)-users  demand more features
• listen to users, but only if it does not disrupt the experience and doesn’t break the law

To briefly go into the individual points, freedom is an important concept though within a framework of politeness and treating others as you yourself would like to be treated yourself. The medium on blogs is of course mainly text, but it might just as well be pictures, video, or audio. As long as it communicates the argument or point effectively. The second point deals with technology really, and I think the internet is particularly suitable for a spreading of ideas beyond an organisation. The third point again deals with respect for people. The fourth is my opinion that simplicity encourages complexity, which leads to richer content. But, much like Google, structures need to grow with the community, or else they are useless and people will move on. But this also needs to match with what the community needs, which is most accurately communicated by power-users. The final point is also a matter of respect, both for the core-principles that drew people together and society as a whole.

Note that this is a positivist perspective on communities, and that I will go into some other aspects of them in future posts.

I might have left some characteristics out there and I would appreciate feedback on where they could be improved. This is incidentally also the way I perceive Tech IT Easy and I think it’s important to rationalise some principles so that we can encourage a flourishing community where much value is derived from each member’s input. So this, I think, is also a good point to ask readers to comment on what they would like to see on Tech IT Easy to improve their experience, but you can also write us a mail, listed on the about-page.

Vincent is a co-author on Tech IT Easy. You can find out more about him on this blog’s initial announcement or on his site.

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1. I have become a de facto source for information (still a modest one, but better a little something than a virtual black hole)
2. I have become a de facto destination for information – receiving between 1 and 10 private emails every day through this blog. Half of them usually are PR product introductions for me to blog on (something I hardly do), the other half I read carefull and try to answer.
3. When people google my name, they find my blog rather than the – often, stupid comments I left here and there. Having a blog can be an effective shield
4. People know where to find me
5. When I happen to meet new people thanks to my blog, it’s always extremely qualitative. But starting to blog shouldn’t be about networking: starting a blog for networking reasons is the worse way to network and to blog
6. It helps me keep up with the latest trends and understand better the current state of the web
7. It helps me keep track of my states of minds, ideas and thoughts at a certain time – given that these sames ideas evolve over time
8. Keep in touch with friends living abroad whom with I share a passion for high tech – some of them even blog on Tech IT Easy (Kari, Vince, and soon..maybe your own self?)
9. Get to read some very interesting comments sometimes which make me change my views on certain things and learn from people willing to share their expertise or opinion
10. I’m a young professional and consequently, a complete dummy in the software industry. Despite appearances! So the equivalent of a 850 pages book I’ve written so far provide me with some sort of credibility I guess
11. Bonus one derived from point #10: having a blog saves me time as people who read Tech IT Easy know what I think of certain topics so, instead to beat around the bush during a conversation, will be straight to the point. And if they happen to be bloggers too, I’ll tend to do the same – in short, if you want to use your time more efficiently, start blogging. And if you think Tech IT Easy may be a good communication platform for you, then feel free to contact me.
12. Last but not least, a bonus one derived from all previous points: I wouldn’t be working where I’m working hadn’t I been a blogger.

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