Networked Society
From Internet: Knowledge and Community
Michael Gurstein states that "Networked Society is a society which is re-forming itself based on open-ended and widely dispersed network structures and connections rather than, for example, on those structures which reflect the requirement for face to face connections or physically mediated relationships such as families." Furthermore, Gurstein believes that in this sense, the notion of the network is to some degree in opposition to the notion of community in that networks are conventionally structured around the relationships of autonomous and self-directed individual actors (or nodes) where the basic structuring is of individuals (nodes) interacting with other individuals (nodes) with linkages between nodes being based on individual choice.
I am concerned by the idea that networked society is in opposition to the notion of community. Gurstein, believes the contrast between networked society and communities lies within the framework or DNA of the two collectives. Stating the former relies on self-directed actors exercising individual choice, thereby creating the structure or framework of the network. However, Gurstein states communities in their most generic form rely on a shared framework built on "common values, norms, rules of behavior, goals and so on." To some extent I see the distinction Gurstein is trying to make, however if we look at Facebook arguably the most active online facilitator with regard to networked individuals I see some room for disagreement. I like most have a Facebook account and like most I exercise individual choice in an attempt to become connected to a network of individuals that I believe to hold some value with regard to their contribution. Gurstein, never states that networked society created via ICT could contain some of the same attributes of our communities. This perspective casts aside the dynamic creation of networked communities that arise via a networked society. People discriminate with regard to networks and access, for example when a user receives friend requests on Facebook a process of evaluation takes place. The criteria used by individuals is always different, but it will always reflect their personal values. We have all received that friend request from an individual we wish not to have contact with anymore, generally due to a difference in core values. It is this discrimination process that dynamically carves out (or creates) networked communities from a networked society. I understand this is a chaotic process that relies on individuals exercising self-interested behavior in an attempt to form the framework of their networked community. This exciting and individualistic manner in which a community can evolve into a group of individuals operating under a shared framework of values can look very much like a traditional community. The important difference is the values of the networked community surfaced as the network materialized, contrasted against the mechanisms of a traditional community where the core values, goals, rules of behavior is set and provide a visible set of guidelines to entry, or a visible barrier to entry.
