To begin with, one visual that we were presented with is that of Collaboration & Collective Intelligence. I thought it was very informative that the graph was organized by scope and strength of the Tie. In this visual one can see how Collaboration is very strong, yet has a minimal scope. Things like Team Collaboration, Project Management, and Wikis cannot be contributed or expanded by as many individuals. Although that may be a restriction on the knowledge being shared, the positive aspect of it is that it is much more concentrated in that the information is tight, focused, and accurate.
On the other hand, Collective Intelligence is a much more broad form of collaboration. The tie is weak, but the scope is much greater. Concepts such as Innovation Management and Prediction Markets play a role in this because there are many factors contributing. In other words, one needs a lot more knowledge about a much larger, less focused scope to successfully carry out those types of duties.
This week we also had the opportunity to watch journalist James Surowiecki's TED talk on the power and danger of online crowds. I found this topic particularly interesting because being one of the first generations to grow up with internet, I was able to relate to what the speaker had to say. He brought up the paradox of online crowds; that being that groups are more successful when individuals are more independent. To exemplify the concept, he used the example of ants simply following those in front of them leading them to a lack of progress.
To further this concept, we also learned about coordination which leads to collaboration. Instead of depending on the ant in front and mirroring others' behaviors, individuals should be independent and have the genuine intention of collaborating. This will lead to harmony and the achievement of the group's goals.
