elearnspace

Information in networks often reflects the silo structure of hierarchies. In theory , networks are conducive to information flow. In reality, social networks are often bounded by the views, opinions, and beliefs of the network. Which means that information will flow well through the nodes within a particular small world, information that challenges the views held by individuals within the bounded network will often not flow. Bounded networks – such as Daily Kos or Instapundit – have limited meaningful exchange with each other. Networks like Twitter allow for network formation through followers and lists, but the main twitter trending topic and hashtags can’t be bounded as readily as the follower networks. Viegas and Wattenberg have an excellent talk on how Google suggested search and Twitter hashtags provide insight into themes produced by searchers and comments.

Toward the end of the short presentation, they discuss how Twitter hashtags are used to reach across clustered networks – i.e. how Republicans and Democrats tag posts to engage (taunt) each other. This might seem like a fairly simple concept, but it’s a powerful illustration of the need for networks to incorporate opportunities for exchange between different clusters of thoughts/views/beliefs. That’s the technical solution to better information flow.

The social solution rests in the work of educators. Assisting learners in recognizing the need for engagement outside of structured networks is a key challenge. Partly, this resembles information literacy – what’s the source? what’s the evidence? what is the bias?, etc. But rather than only evaluating the nature of information being encountered, consideration needs to be given to the breadth and nature of that information. When learning in networks, it’s important for learners to pursue intentional diversity.