onfocus

Like Jason, I was impressed by Clay Shirky's analysis of the LiveJournal community. Especially his findings about groups of 12 and how they allow people to have a satisfying experience. Since then, I've been noticing groups of twelve. Maybe it's a natural way to organize. I tried to come up with a list of famous 12's.

1. 12 apostles in Christianity
2. 12 causes of samsara in Buddhism
3. 12 tribes of Israel in Judaism
4. 12 people on a jury
5. 12 months in a year
6. 12 signs in the zodiac
7. 12 original American colonies (ok, 13 if you count Delaware)
8. 12 days of Christmas
9. 12 tone musical scale
10. 12-sided snow crystal
11. 12 immortals in Greek Mythology
12. 12 beers in a 12-pack

Yeah, so it was tough coming up with 12 groups of 12. But I think there's something to the idea that a group of 12 is easily divisible into smaller groups, yet maintains the identity of the whole.

Now the question is, how do you build community software that accommodates groups of 12, and encourages that equilibrium point? And how can the whole community scale (another great article on the subject by Clay Shirky) without loosing their individual group identities?

Are there other famous 12s?

PR Watch: Spinning the Web: "Some PR firms have also planted ringers in online chat rooms--paid consultants who defend their clients while concealing their financial ties to the company being discussed. 'A small industry is emerging among consultants who specialize in spinning online discussions to favor the positions of companies and interest groups,' the New York Times reported in October 1999. Audrie Krause, for example, works as a consultant for AT&T but has represented herself online as a 'consumer advocate' during discussions of broadband Internet access, a subject in which AT&T has a vested interest."

I think identity literacy and skepticism without disclosure are going to be important as PR firms use the Web more and more in an attempt to manage perception about issues and companies. The balance between privacy and disclosure is difficult, and hopefully online community developers can find ways to make it easier.

Anyway, the article quoted above shows how PR firms view the Web; both as a threat and an opportunity.

From my backyard this morning:

I just realized this page has gone all text. Usually I have a few pictures up. I've been busy, though, and haven't had a chance to get out with my camera. Hopefully I'll have time this weekend. (going on a road trip.) I've been bad about email too. It's not you—it's me.

There should be a special word for that mix of anger and disappointment you feel when you loose five hours worth of development time because of a computer crash. Heads-up: Visual Basic 6 doesn't have any sort of auto-save, so if you cause an infinite loop–your program will regress to your last saved point. And you will swear. Loudly.

Silent Theft by David Bollier looks like an interesting companion to Lawrence Lessig's The Future of Ideas. It's more about the plundering of the commonwealth through absurd patent and copyright laws. David Bollier opens the book with this nursery rhyme:

They hang the man and flog the woman
That steal the goose from off the common.
But let the greater villain loose
That steals the common from the goose.

'Copy-Proof' CDs Cracked with 99-Cent Marker Pen: "Technology buffs have cracked music publishing giant Sony Music's elaborate disc copy-protection technology with a decidedly low-tech method: scribbling around the rim of a disk with a felt-tip marker."

It would also be great if conferences would make a list of every book mentioned in every talk. There were so many mentioned over the past few days, and I didn't get them written down. I remember Building Secure Software by Viega and McGraw, but that's it. At Lawrence Lessig's panel discussion yesterday, someone (David Henkel-Wallace, I think) mentioned a certain book as "the one thing you should read tomorrow to help fight outrageous copyright laws." (or something like that.) But I can't remember the book he mentioned. Anyone?

(This is another good reason to have a centralized note-swapping space.)

Some ideas from the conference that I'd like to jot down for safe keeping:

• As software companies are held more and more accountable for problems in their code, insurance companies may take over parts of the design process or set standards. (think underwriter's laboratories, which was set up to provide safer electrical equipment.) [related presentation slides.]
• As the technology industry matures, the problems become less technical problems and more human problems.
• Dan Gillmore's phrase The Former Audience kept recurring. Cory mentioned it on his site. It's a great way to explain the effect that weblogs and other collaborative communication technologies are having.
• The idea of copyright has been ingrained in everyone, and it's easy to understand. The idea of a thriving public domain has not been ingrained in everyone. There is a need for great metaphors and stories here so that it's easy to explain why a public domain is necessary for creativity. People should be debating it. Paul's Boutique couldn't be made today (without a thousand lawyers working around the clock). I want another CD like that...or I should be able to make a CD like that. I should be able to sample my culture.
• Unfortunately, I'm beginning to wonder if in the near future, the only place innovation can happen is inside large corporations. They will be able to absorb the costs related to patents, copyright, and insurance standards while smaller companies will simply be litigated out of business. And, of course, disruptive technologies like the personal computer or Napster would never have been released from a big company because it interferes with the existing system of doing business.
• Wireless technology will become ubiquitous, and hack the spaces that big companies won't provide high speed access to. And it's not because any company is pushing it or spearheading it. (It's not happening in the way companies have previously envisioned, anyway.)
• Tim O'Reilly's question: Are webloggers building a city, or living in their own ghetto? [mentioned in Rob Flickenger's EtherPeg article.]

There are many more that I can't quite write down yet. This was the best conference I've ever been to for ideas.

I'm home from the conference. It was a great experience, and I can tell it's going to take a while to digest all of the ideas I heard over the past two days.