May 11, 1998 New Thinking:
Think network

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• Facilitate communication
• Facilitate sharing of information and tools
• Speed up in the delivery of information
• Facilitate co-operation
• Facilitate individuals to communicate, access and deliver information, regardless of where those individuals are physically located
• Facilitate the management and co-ordination of geographically distributed organizations
• Can reduce computer hardware and software costs in the longer term

Networks also have disadvantages, in that they:

• Result in increased set-up costs
• Can be expensive to maintain
• Add complexity
• Can create dependencies and reliability issues
• Increase security risks
• Require training and a culture change if the best is to be got out of them

The term “networking” has been a core, if often unstated, behavioral pattern in social and economic systems since, in all likelihood, the time people first began to form into groups.

In discussing how people with disabilities should go about seeking work, the American National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research writes about the importance of having and using networks. “When we use the terms "networks" or "personal connections," we are referring to the range of people you see and interact with in the variety of activities you do (and have done) at work, in school, and in your community. They may include family or close friends, former bosses or co-workers, professionals, and people working in stores that you frequent. We all know people, and we all have networks.”

Profnet, a business networking organization, makes the following statement about networking: “In its simplest form, networking simply means making connections to make exchanges easier. This can be social, personal, professional, or even technical. In the professional setting, networking is getting to know people and businesses, and developing trust and communication to make the process of business easier and more profitable. This usually involves the exchange of "leads", or referrals to potential customers, between businesses.”

The Internet is the coming together of computer networks and human networking. As part of a book I’m writing, I’m trying to establish a set of rules that will help maximize an Internet presence. One such rule:

• “A website increases its network value the more it is linked.”

Interestingly, Edupage reported recently that a team of researchers at Cornell University and IBM's Almaden Research Center has created a search system that rates web pages in relation to how many times they have been linked to. The very sound assumption here is that if a lot of people are linking to a page, then the chances of it being a quality page are increased.

Anyone else got some ‘network rules?’


Gerry McGovern


 

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