Social systems

Here are some of the observations and insights that were shared via Twitter this past week.

“A System is a set of variables sufficiently isolated to stay constant long enough for us to discuss it. ~ W. Ross Ashby” via @cyetain

@dlnorman – “that’s not curation, it’s hoarding. curation is a mindful act of storytelling, which is not what these scoop.it / paper.li things do.” [I definitely agree]

@JeanHouston – “It is as if a worldwide nervous system is in the works. Each of us is a brain cell in that system, with powers that once belonged to kings”

@metaphorage – “Life is complex, unpredictable & messy: just admit it & act accordingly. “7habits” & “10 Rules” can be helpful, but overly simplistic”

@HildyGottlieb – “Nobody convinces anybody of anything. People come to their own learning. What does that mean for how you’re doing your work?”

The rise of social everything – by @marciamarcia

The organization began using social tools as an internal document repository for operations; yet over time, it grew to become a dynamic communications tool across their internal and external partners. By capturing learning in the moment, the organization could quickly leverage the collective knowledge of its consultants and provide more value and collective intelligence, to the organizations it served.

Networked Individualism: what in the heck is that? – via @LindaP_MD

At the same time, the networked individualism operating system requires that people gain new social skills to operate within it. They need to develop new strategies for handling challenges as they arise. They must devote more time and energy to practicing the art of networking than their ancestors did in order to get their needs met. They can no longer passively let the village take care of them and protect them. They must actively network to leverage the human resources they need, and they must actively manage the boundaries of their self-presentation in these networks.

Organizational models for social business – via @VernaAllee

You can’t plan networks or force fit them into any pattern. You can’t constrain a network to be purely within your own organization – at least not if you want to get any value from it. Networks involve customers/citizens and partners. In fact every participant in a network is a partner – not in some corny marketing sense but in the reality of the exchanges in the network. Networks support communication across channels you didn’t predict in advance. They cross any organizational unit you might have defined – even following the VSM [Viable Systems Model]. For all these reasons networks are great sources of innovation – and that innovation is emergent.

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