You’ve probably noticed the posts haven’t been flowing so regularly in recent times. You can blame that on the recent acquisition of an iPad (or what I call the iMag). As I have said before it is the technology (i.e. the Tool) that shapes the behavior and the iMag is a terrific tool for media consumption tool but it has somewhat limited value as a tool for expression. Time that was once spent hammering on the keyboards of the netbook have been replaced with browsing on Flipboard and retweeting interesting links on Twitter. After that there is the totally addictive interactive comic section (e.g. Angry Birds). So for all intents and purposes the iPad, as anticipated, represents pretty much a recreational time sink.
Anyway I was playing around with the Korg Analog Synthesizer app on the iPad and it left me thinking about feedback loops. More specifically it left me wondering if we had made the mistake of confusing social feedback loops for social networks.
You see if the economics of Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and Google + – and even the web in general – are in reality more about economics of the feedback loop than networks it would probably explain why there is little to no correlation between network theory’s like Metcalfe’s and Reed’s Law and the economic realities of the social networks.
It also echos what Bill GATES said about the internet in 1995 [The Internet Tidal Wave is a positive feedback loop] “The more users it gets, the more content it gets, and the more content it gets, the more users it gets”.
I Suspect we can apply this same statement to Facebook or any of the other social networks or social media platforms. They are first and foremost social feedback loops rather than social networks and this probably explains why Twitter is more of an echo chamber for personalities and ideas than a theater for social influence.
In the end though this idea of the social feedback loop fundamentally changes the way we need to think and interact with the So.Me world. It also brings into serious question the value not only of the networks but also of the eco-systems that have been developed around the So.Me (e.g. Social and Viral Analytics). It probably also explains why this whole concept of monitoring, measuring and managing social media influence has proven to be so fauxionary.
The world changes considerably if we stop thinking about revolutionary new platforms and start thinking about what the next global/local feedback loop is going to be.
This idea of thinking of Social Networks as Social Feedback loops doesn’t render the current debate over the value of Friends and Followers, Lists, Groups and Circles redundant but it does significantly reposition how we should be thinking about what the solution to these problems may look like in the future.
Postscript
Within the context of a network the idea of managing relationships looks complex and time-consuming. Within the context of a feedback loop managing this “problem” is as easy as turning the “knob” on the feedback controller. Depending on your mood you just dial the knob(s) to increase the level of feedback (i.e. noise, randomness or chaos) flowing into your social device to either amplify or dampen the effect. Think of it as a Crowdsong effects box similar to the effects boxes we have for the electric guitar . There could be a social flanger, echo and beatbox.
Take the idea a step further and plug the social feed into a music synth and tapping into the social crowdsong could become the new world music. A sort of evening song or tribal chant meets electro or house that you can personally mix on the iPhone.
Posted on July 30, 2011
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