Kitchen Table Kibitzing May 22, 2016

Musing on communities

Research has shown that 150 people is the optimal maximum number for much human interaction. Early tribes appeared to have split off from one another when the original tribe reached that level. From this link, It’s Science: You Can Only Really Follow 150 People on Twitter, we find:

“[Dunbar] examined human social groupings throughout history, and he kept coming back to that 150 number. It’s the number of people who lived in ancient Neolithic farming villages, the basic unit size for the armies of both ancient Rome and modern times, and the maximum size of most nomadic tribes.”

The element of choice was lacking in these groups. One was born, recruited, or captured into them.

The invention of the telegraph and telephone allowed for a greatly expanded reach for people, but basically only one-on-one. Conference calls could create a group of simultaneous communication, but generally only in a corporate  environment. The invention of the internet changed all that. Gradually the number of people in a community expanded to huge numbers. Although pen-pals might communicate without having ever met, the internet allowed this newish phenomenon to expand even worldwide and with the added touch that race, gender, bias, etc. are initially unknown and must be ferreted out by inference, direct questions, or even choice of emoticons.

Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. 

Community in the Digital Age: Philosophy and Practice

Many new communities have formed, and one of the early ones was The Well, one of the oldest virtual communities in continuous operation. Kossack marge has been a member for a long time and if she’s here could tell us a bit about it.

Then we have Daily Kos. Started with one purpose it has expanded to hundreds of groups with hundreds of interests. Everyone reading today knows all this, of course, but I have been musing about what is new and different about Daily Kos. I know many folks have formed close relationships without so much as a photo of each other. The community generosity is legendary; contributing massive amounts of money to deserving diarists in need. We have feelings when we lose someone, no matter what the reason. The innovation of Yearly Kos and then Netroots created the opportunity to meet in “real life”. This has expanded via meet-ups across the country. Check any Connect! Unite! Act! diary for proof of that.

What a pleasure it is to be familiar with someone through their postings and even anticipate responses to comments due to that familiarity. I am so enriched by my own interactions here and especially with the friends I’ve made. These musings have been prompted by my warm feelings each and every time I interact with one of “my” groups and others as I discover them.

So do you think we are a different phenomenon than elsewhere on the Net? What similar sites have you found and attend? Are they (small d) democratic? Are we special? (yes). Please share any insights.

Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, and interesting videos, as well as links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate. Readers may notice that most who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but newcomers should not feel excluded. We welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well. Please support these Sunday-posting Kitchen Table Kibitzing friends with your recs and social media support!