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That Sneaky Exponential—Beyond Metcalfe's Law to the Power of Community Building by David P. Reed
" ... the total value of a communications network grows with the square of the number of devices or people it connects. ... Networks that support the construction of communicating groups create value that scales exponentially with network size, i.e. much more rapidly than Metcalfe's square law. I will call such networks Group-Forming Networks, or GFNs."
" ... paying attention to network value is a crucial strategic issue, especially as businesses move their customer and supplier relationships into the 'net. What kind of value are we talking about ... the value of potential connectivity for transactions. ... Potential connectivity to many points should have value proportionally larger, since it is not necessary to use the connection to find value in its availability. The value of potential connectivity is the value of the set of optional transactions that are afforded by the system or network."
" ... Group Forming Networks (GFNs) are an important additional kind of network capability. A GFN has functionality that directly enables and supports affiliations (such as interest groups, clubs, meetings, communities) among subsets of its customers. Group tools and technologies ... all have a common theme—they allow small or large groups of network users to coalesce and to organize their communications around a common interest, issue, or goal."
" ... if there is any portion of the total network value that grows exponentially, scale effects will eventually bring that value to the fore, where it will dominate any other source of value. ... the dominant value in a typical network tends to shift from one category to another as the scale of the network increases:
"As digital networking brings scale and global reach to all aspects of our lives and activities, there will be many more ways that we'll see scale driven value shifts that threaten established business networking patterns. ... there is a strong correlation between the prosperity of national economies and social capital, which [is defined] culturally as the ease with which people in a particular culture can form new associations. ... As the scale of interaction grows more global via the Internet, isn't it possible that a combination of social capital and GFN capital will drive prosperity to those who recognize the value of network structures that support free and responsible association for common purposes?" ... [more] ... [more]
11:45:48 AM 
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