Network Basics and Beyond
Networks are structures that connect one entity to another. Each entity is known as a "node" and the jumps between them is known as the "connection" or "connector." It is these three components that make up a network base. Without structure, nodes and connectors, a network does not exist. OK, that's simple enough, but that's where the simplicity in networks ends.
Seimens emphasized that networks are everywhere. We have family networks; travel networks, such as airlines; and the Internet which is a structure of networked computers. Krebs highlighted a ton of networks from the Simpsons to HIV/porn. I noticed that I began to see networks in new ways and in new places. For example, in addition to my "work" work and my work in this course, I've been really investigating the process by which I come by my food. I used to think of this in terms of a grocery and myself. OK, maybe if I really thought about it, I would add some farmer or processing plant somewhere. Little did I realize just how extensive the network of food has become! It includes migrant workers who plant seeds and pick cabbages. It reaches across the oceans to factories in China and India that not only process the food, but manufacture the packaging that encloses it. It reaches back millennium to the production of fossil fuels that fuel the shipping vessels that transport both the unprocessed and processed foodstuffs and petrochemicals that keep down weeds and protect the harvest.
I was also introduced to some terms that expand on the concepts of basic network connections. Hubs are highly-connected nodes that are critical to the operation of an overall network. Powerlaws are certain people or products have a greater share of the power. Strong ties are those relationships among nodes that are very close. Weak ties are those that are not so close, but that doesn't mean they are not important. Weak ties can supply new sources of information and provide opportunity for access to different networks. Wow! This hit me hard as I realized that the strength of our networks is not necessarily in the quality (closeness) of our ties, but in the quantity of our ties. This is especially true if my strong ties are all connected to one another. Any information just goes round and round the circle. There's little new information introduced and the existing information gets stale quickly. Add a weak tie and suddenly there's a whole new world of information available! This has very personal ramifications for an introvert such as me. I tend to have my little group of friends with whom I connect with on a very regular basis. Hmmmm... I'll have to work on that.
Hanneman and Riddle add more insight to the relationships between nodes. Those nodes, or actors as they refer to them, who send out lots of information may be acting as communicators while those receiving a lot of information are known as "sinks", especially if they do not pass the information along. However, those who send more information than they are receiving are usually considered outsiders who are attempting to be influential, but may actually be "clueless." And those who receive little direct information are "out of the loop." (p. 7) Considering the source of information and the strength or weakness of the ties connected to that node may help to differentiate between what is likely to be true and what is baloney.
Kinds of Networks
Seimens also talked about the three different types of networks: neural, social, and conceptual. Neural networks like the way our brains work is the least researched, but most interesting to me. I watched A PBS show the other night about stress and the body. It showed pictures of neural cells from rats under lots of stress and those in a control group. The neurons of those under stress were much smaller than those in the control group. It would seem to me that those neurons would quite literally "lose touch" with some of their weak ties and perhaps be responsible for that loss of memory experienced while under stress, losing keys, checkbooks, and forgetting appointments.
At first, I didn't quite get the concept of conceptual networks (no pun intended). How can connecting two ideas or thoughts change the meaning of both? But, aha(!), Seimens gives the example of stars. Given the word "stars", we think of one thing - perhaps little white sparkly points of light or exploding gaseous globes in a dark sky. However, when we connect that word with the word "stripes" we get a whole new idea of stars - white, 5 pointed fabric shapes on a navy background over red and white stripes. One idea influences the other.
Social networks are most plentiful or at least most recognizable. I found I could relate most concepts of networks by overlaying them on a social network. I could understand weak ties and strong ties, hubs and nodes. Technology is certainly helping to create and maintain social networks at an increasing rate. I moved across the country 2 years ago, but have strengthened ties to several friends via technology. I've also been able to foster relationships that never would have flourished without technology.
I am an information sink!
One final passage that struck me this week is found in Hanneman and Riddle: