Well 2007 was definitely a year of radical innovation on the Internet. It seems that almost everyone I know has a web presence, such as a blog or website. As I reflect back on some of the new Internet trends that are beginning to take shape including social and professional networking, wikis, RSS feeds, RSS readers, and even the new Google Blog search engine, I am struck by two major epiphanies.
- There is so much STUFF to learn through these new Internet tools that you can literally get lost in all the information.
- In a world of increasing connectivity and traffic, the key is not trying to stay well connected to all of it by yourself, but rather to keep in touch with about six to ten OTHER people who are well connected themselves.
I came to this realization through a series of steps that started with reading an article written by sociologist Mark Granovetter entitled, The Strength of Weak Ties. Granovetter helps to see how broad social network have more value than narrow and deep ones. But as I began expanding my network, I realized there is some redundancy of information among the various outlets. This led to a surprising conclusion, that I can stay just as connected through a few quality contacts as I can through scores of mediocre contacts. Napoleon Hill explains this in his timeless book, Think and grow rich. Rockefeller, Ford, Carnegie, all maintained what Hill calls a "Matermind", made up of about 6 to 10 trusted busines associates.
It's a powerful concept once you see it, but just as 90% of the wealth of the United States is owned by the top 1% of the wealthiest citizens, so too I believe that 90% of the best knowledge out there is also possessed by a relative minority. Finding that upper crust knowlege, and linking to it through blogs, wiki's, emails, and any communication is going to be a huge benefit for personal innovation. So what I have done is connected with people who are highly specialized in one discipline or field that I am interested in but who also have broad interests outside their field. In this way, I have expanded by knowledge base vicariously through others. It's awesome.
I'm really looking forward to 2008.
It's a powerful concept once you see it, but just as 90% of the wealth of the United States is owned by the top 1% of the wealthiest citizens, so too I believe that 90% of the best knowledge out there is also possessed by a relative minority. Finding that upper crust knowlege, and linking to it through blogs, wiki's, emails, and any communication is going to be a huge benefit for personal innovation. So what I have done is connected with people who are highly specialized in one discipline or field that I am interested in but who also have broad interests outside their field. In this way, I have expanded by knowledge base vicariously through others. It's awesome.
I'm really looking forward to 2008.
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