Lindsey fair picnic for a million march 3, 2011

A Picnic for a Million: The New Social Capital Lindsey Fair March 3, 2011 MBAD 500 – Business and Community Development Dr. Gertrude MacIntyre Cape Breton University – Shannon School of Business

Social capital is not a new term. It is not a new theory, nor is it a new aspect of Community Economic Development (CED). But social capital as we have known it, as it has been explained for many decades, is evolving. The fathers of social capital theory Robert Putnam1, Pierre Bordieu2 and James Coleman3 have spent decades showing where and how social capital exists. They have explained the impact social capital can have, and furthermore the negative impacts of a community with low social capital. They, along with others, have taught us how to measure social capital and how to analyze the impact. And most recently they have talked in depth about the decline of social capital.4 However, instead of looking at all social capital as declining, its time to develop a new definition for it. Traditional social capital has declined, but it doesnt mean that social capital itself is gone. Social capital is alive and well, it just looks different. Putnam defines social capital as “the connections among individuals, social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them” and “that enable participants to act more effectively to pursue shared objectives”.5 Coleman agrees with Putnam in that social networks are the infrastructure of social capital6, and defines it as “a variety of entities with two characteristics in common: they all consist of some aspect of a social structure and they facilitate certain action of individuals who are within the structure”.7 Along the same lines Bourdieu defines social capital as the “aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to the possession of a durable network ofmore or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition.”8 These definitions have not changed; the new social capital is still the connections between people with structures in place based on trust and shared objectives. But how we go about creating these connections, where they are based, what we do with them and the impact of our new connections is drastically different than what it used to be. A Picnic for a Million: The New Social Capital (Lindsey Fair 2011) 2

Communities used to rely on local groups, the front porch and a morning cup of tea together as the main source for social capital.9 And as, Putnam explains in great detail in Bowling Alone10 is that this type of social capital is dying. People no longer join local clubs, they no longer share cups of tea together, they dont even have picnics together, or at least not very often. Putnam used Tocquevilles comment in the 1830s as a reference point in his research when Tocquevilles said “Americans of all ages, all stations in life, and all types of disposition are forever forming associations.”11 Even with the decline presented by Putnam, Tocquevilles is right, people are forever forming and joining associations, even still today. The associations have just changed. Brian Solis explains how the traditional methods of creating social capital blend with the new and changed social capital. “Digital capitalization is laying a foundation for expanding the need to cultivate and participate, not only in the real world, but also in the online networks and communities that can benefit us personally and professionally.”12 We dont have time to meet on the porch, or even make a phone call for that matter. Instead we “shoot off a text message...(the Internet and SNS) are uniquely suited to the overworked and overscheduled life it makes possible.”13 Now our associations are online, they utilize social networking sites(SNS) such as FaceBook and Twitter to create new communities; and these new communities are no longer geographically constrained as they once were. There are many arguments that the Internet and SNS can not create real social capital. That “no online experience, no matter how creatively crafted or innovative, can fully replace the chatter on those front porches...”14 However, for every one of those arguments there is at least one argument that SNS do create social capital. Even one of todays most well‐known critics of online community building, and probably the most recently published on the topic, Sherry Turkle, doesnt deny that “..(SNS) expand their reach in a continually growing community of acquaintance. No matter how esoteric their interests, they are surrounded by enthusiasts, potentially drawn from all over the world.” 15 A Picnic for a Million: The New Social Capital (Lindsey Fair 2011) 3

Although this paper isnt meant to discuss the merits of social capital through SNS, it is important that we address the issues related to it. It is important to emphasize how the principles of CED and social capital have remained intact. In particular it is important to discuss trust, education, democracy, inclusion, governance and capacity building. These discussions will strive to lead to a consensus of the new social capital. Trust There are three identified examples of trust on SNS: triangulation, confessions and dating. Each example highlights how trust exists and the benefits of trust derived from SNS versus traditional examples of trust. Triangulation as described in the State of Community Management is a “technique to influence a person through influencing their closest peers rather than directly.”16 This is the foundation of how social networking works. Networks and trust circles are quickly and easily formed because each new person is endorsed or recommended by a trusted friend, therefore individuals instantly trust new contacts without ever having met them. “Typically (it is) more effective at creating lasting change than a more direct approach and also useful in situations where passions are running high.“17 Traditionally trust was a long process sometimes developed over years and only through shared experiences. Development of trust can now happen almost instantly, in real‐time, through triangulation. As a critic of capital through SNS, Turkle argues that many social interactions online are confessions and that compared to traditional communities, we would never share our personal confessions to our A Picnic for a Million: The New Social Capital (Lindsey Fair 2011) 4

groups or associations18 so therefore these interactions are unnatural and are not a good example of true trust development. This is probably true of say a parent council, most people would not feel comfortable sharing their deepest confessions at a PTA meeting. However, traditionally there have been clubs and associations established for the sole purpose of confessions, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, new mother support groups, etc. Therefore development of trust, using confessions as a model, is quite apparent in both online and offline trust development. This has not changed, only now these confessions can include a much larger base of support and provide even great anonymity in the early stages of trust development. These safe, new environments of confession provide a large base support and are based on the concept of reciprocity. Lastly, dating and marriage are arguably the most accurate forms of trust development in social capital. Although dating has most likely never been connected to social capital in business and research, it is very relative to the discussion. The numbers definitely indicate that SNS are creating and sustaining long‐term trust circles. 1 out of 5 people are in a committed relationship with someone they met online, and 17% of people that married in 2010 met on a dating SNS.19 These are significant numbers in trust development on SNS. The new trust model in social capital is relationship based, long‐term, based on reciprocity and confessions and is immediate through triangulation. Education An article by Larry Abramson discusses how schools are now using SNS to keep students enrolled. They are using such sites as FaceBook to create classroom environments that are inclusive and engaging.20 But its not just formal education; on‐going, lifelong education is also happening online. A Picnic for a Million: The New Social Capital (Lindsey Fair 2011) 5

SNS like Quora and LinkedIn provide opportunities for members to post questions, discussions and answers. People are now educating people. Online communities are learning from other online communities. The authors in the ClueTrain Manefesto talk about how “through the Internet, people are discovering and inventing new ways to share relevant knowledge with blinding speed.”21 The new education models are happening online, are not bound by proximity to schools and are able to use best‐practices from around the globe to continue to build upon past learning. Its real‐time, its more inclusive of students and learners with a wide variety of learning styles and its continuous. Democracy There are many faces and many examples of democracy through SNS. The main concept of democracy for CED is by the people for the people.22 SNS have staff that do the day to day development of the tools, but the communities themselves are created, developed and maintained by the communities themselves. The pillars of SNS are that everyone is a producer, that everyone has a voice and that the best way to balance power is through persuasive influence – and this type of democracy can now happen rapidly. With new media, everyone is producing; from blogs to wikis to SNS. The conversation is many to many, not 1 to 1 as it has been in the past.23 FaceBook now has over 500 million active users24, making it the third largest country in the world. It is a mass community with a lot of power, but its power of and by the people. Clay Shirky gives a very clear example of how SNS are aiding democracy. He talks about how in the past, China suppressed news information about devastation such as earthquakes from their people. Now with SNS they are unable to do this. The Chinese government still tries, but photos, videos and A Picnic for a Million: The New Social Capital (Lindsey Fair 2011) 6

messages are shared instantaneously via SNS.25 The people have a voice in the problem, and it also allows for community re‐building to start instantly. Not only is this leading to better community democracy, SNS are changing institution. Recently, the world has seen the crisis in Egypt unfold before its eyes through SNS. As tweeted by Richard Florida on February 13, 2011, “The lesson of Egypt: Social media dont supplant the public square. They push people to it. ‐ Blair Kamin”.26 SNS are not a replacement for geographical aspects of CED, they are not a replacement of venues of democracy, instead they are making new venues available, they are extending the voice of democracy. “These networked conversations are enabling powerful new forms of social organization and knowledge exchange to emerge.”27 This is leading to democracy, change and hopefully to long‐term sustainable CED. Friedman responded to the Egyptian crisis in an article for the New York Times saying that “This sense of self‐empowerment and authenticity – we did this for ourselves – is what makes Egypts democracy movement such a potential game‐changer for the whole region.”28 And the world got to see it happen and engage in the process through SNS making the scale of democracy that much greater. Todays communities are using persuasive influence, a theory based on the ability to build support for an initiative without using authority to do so, rather based on those that have opted‐in to participate.29 As presented by Dr. McIntyre, communities with high social capital need less policing leading to a higher degree of democracy.30 Currently most SNS members police themselves and each other. There are very few instances of outside policing. The people are working together to create not only a community, but the governance and structure of a successful community as well. Recently 4 homeless people were given a prepaid cell phone, a month of unlimited text messaging and a SNS account on Twitter.31 It gave these 4 people a voice. But it also gave them a community, and it gave the A Picnic for a Million: The New Social Capital (Lindsey Fair 2011) 7

community a chance to share their voice on homeless issues. They are working together now to create democracy for these people, without ever having met them. Community and Capacity Building Communities are referred to in some cultures as Tribes. Seth Godin discusses the modern tribe in length. The term tribes is also useful in the discussion about community building. Tribes are about connecting people and ideas.32 “In a Web 2.0 world, social media allows modern tribes to form in an instant, and because we are driven to be tribal and to learn from our tribes, tribes appear around almost any topic your imagination can conjure up.” says the authors from the Hyper‐Social Organization.33 SNS give introverted people and introverted, rural communities a place to find community without having to change their personality. Godin agrees “the Internet ... people on the fringes can find each other, connect and go somewhere.”34 For communities that have diminishing social capital, Dr. Alexandra Samuel says that SNS “can help squeeze the latent social capital out of a given community, making it socially useful.”35 She also provides examples of existing social capital in a community that only exists because of the web such as a “spontaneous effort to collect clothes for homeless people to a self‐organizing league of Green Lanterns protecting virtual refugees.” Turkle recognizes that “the global reach of connectivity can make the most isolated outpost into a centre of learning and economic activity.” Even though her book is primarily about the challenges of a connected world, she concurs that it has changed how we operate. She continues to support the idea of community building through SNS “this allows otherwise unable connections to continue and strengthen”.36 SNS have lowered transaction and collaboration costs and enhanced peoples capability to A Picnic for a Million: The New Social Capital (Lindsey Fair 2011) 8

collaborate.37 They are designed to make community building easy. The new community development is happening globally based on sociographics and psychographics, whereas traditionally it was based on demographics and geographics. These new communities start with a common purpose and then find the people, instead of the reverse. These communities evolve – constantly. These new communities are global tribes. Governance If we look at the elements of good governance: participation, transparency, de‐centralization of power and accountability; SNS are great examples of good community governance. The power is held completely with the people and with the communities. By nature of how the communities communicate, information and learning is transparent not only for their own communities but often for other communities as well. They are accountable to the world and are challenged each day, each minute about their beliefs and actions. They are accountable to each other. And they wouldnt exist without participation. A Picnic for a Million: The New Social Capital (Lindsey Fair 2011) 9

The change in social capital hasnt happened overnight, it has taken almost a decade to get to where we are now. We are just now reaching the “billion hour buzz” as explained by Etzione38. The world of social networking is in its’ infancy, but it has been around long enough now for the impacts of CED to be realized. The conversation has reached the buzz point, both in hours, and in reach. The number of people participating in the conversation is greater than it ever has been. There are still many questions that need to be answered around the new social capital, but at least the conversation is happening and its happening at rapid speed. As Samuel said “..if theres one thing social media does well, its to make those networks wider and denser: more people are more connected than ever before.”39 There are still many questions about social capital and online CED to be answered such as what the empirical evidence is and what are the best practices for measurement? How sustainable are these communities? How will mobile technology impact, evolve and once again change the development of social capital? Will this new social capital, eventually replace the traditional social capital or will the two become more entwined? However, we are starting to understand where social capital is going. The new social capital as described by The Community Roundtable is very real “The definition of social capital is the active connections between people that make cooperation possible.”40 The new social capital derived on the Internet “tends to refer more generally to the strength and density of your social networks.”41 But it is time to start realizing that the new social capital still includes the connections between people with structures in place based on trust and shared objectives. But how we go about creating those connections, how we develop trust and our overall objectives of social capital, have all changed. These relationships are now developed, evolved and globalized using SNS. The communities are open for increasing social capital 24 hours, 7 days a week. Trust is created A Picnic for a Million: The New Social Capital (Lindsey Fair 2011) 10

through endorsements of future friends, groups, events, ideas, projects and even our own shared thoughts. And our objectives have globalized. We no longer look to only impact our physical proximity, but now globally as well. As Dr. Gertrude MacIntyre presented, the CED evaluation approach starts with a process. It is ongoing, leads to products and projects, is long‐term and builds on learning.42 There is evidence of all of these throughout SNS. We have surpassed the billion‐hour buzz; many communities have received aid due to SNS, it is evolving before us and SNS are providing a multitude of learning opportunities for communities worldwide. Turkle says that communities are built on physical proximity, shared concerns, real consequences and common responsibilities.43 Minus physical proximity, SNS provide the other three. They provide a trusting environment for everyone participating. And by not being bound by proximity, it leads to stronger democracy and inclusion. Social capital is alive and well, its new and different, its online. This allows the picnics to be larger, instead of just a few local friends; the world is now hosting picnics for a million. A Picnic for a Million: The New Social Capital (Lindsey Fair 2011) 11

1 Robert Putnam, “Bowling Alone: Americas Declining Social Capital”, Journal of Democracy Volume 6, Number 1 (January 1995): 65‐78 2 Pierre Bourdieu, Outline of a Theory of Practice (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology No. 16, 1977) 3 James Coleman, Foundations of Social Theory (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1990) 4 Robert Putnam, The Collapse and Revival of American Community, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000) 5 Putnam 2000, 19 and Putnam 1995, 664‐665 6 Lynn Mandarano, “Social Network Analysis of Social Capital in Collaborative Planning”, Society and Natural Resources Volume 22, Issue 3 (March 2009):245 ‐ 260 7 Coleman, S98 8 Bourdieu, P. 1986. The Forms of Capital. Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education. Connecticut: Greenwood Press. 9 Yvonne DiVita, Back to the Future: How Social Networking is Recreating the Neighbourhood, 2009 10 Putnam 2000 11 Putnam 1995 12 Brian Solis , Social Capital: The Currency of the Social Economy, 2010 http://www.briansolis.com/2010/03/social‐capital‐the‐currency‐of‐digital‐citizens/ 13 Sherry Turkle, Alone Together: Why we expect more from Technology and less from each other (Basic Books, 2011) 14 DiVita 15 Levine, Locke, Searls & Weinberger The ClueTrain Manifesto, http://www.cluetrain.com/book/index.html 2001 16 State of Community Management Report, http://community-roundtable.com/socm-2010/, 201017 State of Community Management Report, http://community-roundtable.com/socm-2010/, 201018 Turkle, 239 19 Match.com and Chadwick Martin Bailey ‐ Recent Trends: Online Dating http://cp.match.com/cppp/media/CMB_Study.pdf, 2010 20 Larry Abramson Can Social Networking Keep Students in School? February 9, 2011 21 Levine, Locke, Searls & Weinberger 22 Abraham Lincoln 23 Clay Shirky, Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations (Penguin USA, 2008) 24 http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics 25 Shirky26 Richard Florida 27 Levine, Locke, Searls & Weinberger #9 of 95 Theses 28 Thomas Friedman, “They Did It” New York Times, February 12, 2011 29 State of Community Management 30 Gertrude MacIntyre Ph.D. Class Discussion February 2011 31 Corey Kilgannon, “A Life on the Streets, Captured on Twitter” New York Times, February 24, 2011 32 Seth Godin, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us (Portfolio Hardcover, 2008) 33 François Gossieaux, Ed Moran The Hyper‐Social Organization (McGraw‐Hill , 2010) 34 Seth Godin, Tribes, TedTalks February 2009, http://blog.ted.com/2009/05/12/you_asked_seth/ 35 Alexandra Samuel, Ph.D., Defining the impact of social media on social capital, 2010 36 Turkle, 152, 155 37 Mark Vanderbeeken Reflections on LIFT Conference 2011 http://www.core77.com/blog/education/reflections_on_lift_conference_2011_18646.asp 38 Etzione 39 Samuel 40 The Community Roundtable http://www.slideshare.net/marknadsstod/getting‐real‐about‐enterprise‐20 41 Nathaniel Whittemore, “Why Social Capital is Coming the Decades Most Important Buzzword”, February 6, 2011 in Social Capital Blog 42 MacIntyre 43 Turkle, 152, 155 A Picnic for a Million: The New Social Capital (Lindsey Fair 2011) 12

Bibliography Abramson, Larry. Can Social Networking Keep Students in School? NPR.org, February 9, 2011. Antoci, Angelo and Fabio Sabatini, Mauro Sodini. Bowling alone but tweeting together: the evolution of human interaction in the social networking era 2010. Bailey, Chadwick Martin and Match.com Recent Trends: Online Dating http://cp.match.com/cppp/media/CMB_Study.pdf, 2010. Bourdieu, Pierre. 1986. The Forms of Capital. Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education. Connecticut: Greenwood Press. Bourdieu, Pierre. Outline of a Theory of Practice Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology No. 16, 1977. Brogan, Chris and Julien Smith. Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust Wiley, 2009 Canadians Say Yes To Social Media EMARKETER, November 29, 2010. Churches Embrace Social Networking And Social Media, PR WEB / SF CHRONICLE, January 28, 2011. Coleman, James. Foundations of Social Theory Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1990. DiVita, Yvonne. Back to the Future: How Social Networking is Recreating the Neighbourhood 2009. Egan, John. Klout Predicts Grammy Winners Based on Facebook and Twitter Power February 12, 2011. Ellison, Nicole B. And Charles Steinfield, Cliff Lampe. The Benefits of Facebook "Friends:" Social Capital and College Students Use of Online Social Network Sites, Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 12(4), article 1, 2007. www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics Friedman, Thomas. They Did It New York Times, February 12, 2011. Friedman, Thomas. The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty‐First Century Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. Gladwell, Malcolm. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking Back Bay Books, 2005. Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers Little, Brown and Company, 2008. Godin, Seth. Tribes, TedTalk, http://blog.ted.com/2009/05/12/you_asked_seth/, February 2009. Godin, Seth. Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us Portfolio Hardcover, 2008. Gossieaux, François and Ed Moran. The Hyper‐Social Organization McGraw‐Hill , 2010. A Picnic for a Million: The New Social Capital (Lindsey Fair 2011) 13

Happe, Rachel. 5 Risks of Having A Community Without Management http://community‐ roundtable.com, February 11, 2011. Hunt, Tara. The Whuffie Factor: Using The Power Of Social Networks To Build Your Business, Crown Publishing Group, 2009. Kilgannon, Corey. A Life on the Streets, Captured on Twitter New York Times, February 24, 2011. Lattery, Adrienne. From Bowling Leagues, BBQs, and Potluck Dinners to Bits, Bytes, and Motherboards Cape Breton University, 2006. Levine, Locke, Searls & Weinberger The ClueTrain Manifesto, www.cluetrain.com/book/index.html, 2001. MacIntyre Ph.D., Gertrude. Class Discussion February 2011. Mandarano, Lynn. Social Network Analysis of Social Capital in Collaborative Planning Society and Natural Resources Volume 22, Issue 3, March 2009. Matei, Sorin Adam. The social impact of social media: creator or destroyer of social capital? Journal ofBroadcasting and electronic Media, July 26, 2010. Miemis, Venessa. Social Capital is not Whuffie http://socialmediatoday.com/index.php?q=SMC/180077, March 8, 2010. Putnam, Robert. Bowling Alone: Americas Declining Social Capital, Journal of Democracy Volume 6, Number 1, January 1995. Putnam, Robert. The Collapse and Revival of American Community New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000. Putnam, Robert. Social Capital: Measurement and Consequences Isuma: Canadian Journal of Policy Research 2, Spring 2001. Samuel, Ph.D., Alexandra. Defining the impact of social media on social capital, www.alexandrasamuel.com, Emily Carr University, 2010. Shirky, Clay. Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations Penguin USA, 2008. Solis, Brian. The Conversation Prism www.theconversationprism.com, 2010. Solis, Brian. Social Capital: The Currency of the Social Economy, www.briansolis.com, 2010. State of Community Management Report, http://community‐roundtable.com/socm‐2010/, 2010. Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together: Why we expect more from Technology and less from each other Basic Books, 2011. Vanderbeeken, Mark. Reflections on LIFT Conference 2011 A Picnic for a Million: The New Social Capital (Lindsey Fair 2011) 14

http://www.core77.com/blog/education/reflections_on_lift_conference_2011_18646.asp. Wellman, Barry and Anabel Quan Haase, James Witte, Keith Hampton. Does the Internet increase, decrease, or supplement social capital?: social networks, participation, and community commitment American Behavioral Scientist November 2001 vol. 45 no. 3. White, Nancy. Active lurkers – the hidden asset in online communities February 18, 2010. Whittemore, Nathaniel. Why Social Capital is Coming the Decades Most Important Buzzword Social Capital Blog, February 6, 2011. A Picnic for a Million: The New Social Capital (Lindsey Fair 2011) 15

Lindsey fair picnic for a million march 3, 2011

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Lindsey fair picnic for a million march 3, 2011 — Document Transcript