Social networks help us to explore the world but they are becoming congested. As networks continue to expand and new content is added we will increasingly seek filters, aggregation and ways of making sense of all the information. We will strive to personalise it and make it relevant to our own interests. The average and offensive will go leaving hopefully the useful. The popularity and creativity of blending data and design has led to incubation and later proliferation of infographics. As people have investigated the behaviours and patterns within networks we have again turned to visualization to simplify and help us see the patterns.
Mapping the Blogosphere is a collection of maps of the blogosphere
Micro Fashion Network: Color visualizations show the continuous change of styles in fashion
Twingly Screensaver visualizes the blogosphere worldwide in real time
Making the complex look simple
Whitney Hess on Linkedin's InMap
The Guardian on Tweets during the World Cup 2010
Notabilia - Visualizing Wikipedia deletion discussions
Innovation across America
GraphNews is a news visualization browser from the Libero WebNews service
Last.Forward is a downloadable tool to visualize any Last.fm user's social network
Stack is an innovative visualization offerings from Digg.
Websites as Graphs shows the structure of different websites based on tags
An Industrial Renaissance - but the industry is knowledge and innovation
We are seeing a merger of creative and technical influences. It is reminds us of DaVinci, a multi-talented scientist, artist, engineer and designer who lived during the renaissance. Why?
There is a resurgence in the recognition of creativity as part of how we interact with objects, information and each other in the very spaces we work and the tools we use. Creativity has the ability to humanise the science, of being an essential ingredient in how we move from idea to design; and it is the tangible way we connect with people at an emotional level, for it inspires and that in itself is a incredibly powerful motivator. In this sense it resonates with Clay Shirkeys famous quote
' a revolution doesn’t happen when a society adopts new tools. It happens when society adopts new behaviors.'
So are we all creative? Elizabeth Gilbert argues the case that we are all creative. Clay Shirkey also illustrates this in his book Cognitive Surplus; here is an interesting article by the Guardian.
Convergence of creative and technical
Explore here a great collection of Ted Talks about creativity
Convergence is often discussed in terms of technology, but now there is another form of convergence that is as much of a catalyst of change as technology itself. Often when creativity is mentioned people make the immediate mental leap and association with designers and artists; however technical people (those that have often been referred to as Geeks), are demonstrating how diverse creativity can be. Many young minds are being fuelled by access to information and more importantly like-minded people. Many are producing technical solutions that push the boundaries of innovation and disrupt traditional business models.
As investors seize upon these bright ideas, the money flows and the news spreads daily of new start-ups. What is interesting is the fusion of creative and technical skills both within people and between people. Now that people are able to explore the world through the web. As they take and follow their many avenues of interest and curiousity, they occasionally may come across others within this network that become the inspiration which ignites their creativity.
Unlocking Networks
Networks are a pervasive part of nature of being human and being part of this world. From the network of neurons in our brain, to the network behaviour we exhibit to the complex networks of ecosystems. As Ross Dawson points out the network structures themselves influence the behaviours. But how does affect our futures and how does this affect businesses. If we use Ted Nelson’s metaphor, “Our bodies are hardware, our behavior software,” then how do our bodies work with our cities, mediated by software?
Why is this important?
Understanding how networks work, how they can be influenced has significant impacts on business. Networks affect the very fabric of commerce from share prices, business transformation, brand awareness to sales. But it is in how these networks can be influenced that many are avidly following this research area. If you could shave off months in terms of a business transformation process or magnify the amount of new customers and sales; then you have a compelling reason to research your networks.
What of Geeks and Creatives
Now is the time to explore enjoy and take part in the changes. We each have a role to play. For some this may be helping others to seize the technologies and tools to help them personally realise their inner creativity. It doesn't matter what the label is Geeks are cool as are Creatives; it is the energy and inspiration of creativity that counts. For others it may be recognising that it is valuable to explore all sorts of creativity with other people often outside your own discipline; together you might come up with some great ideas or simply have fun.
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