I am not sure about the definition of Social Capital assumed here. I went to FG2.com to check and this is what they say:
“Social capital refers to the connections and interactions people share within and between networks - whether through face-to-face conversation or through web-based social applications such as Wordpress, Facebook, and Twitter.”
This definition reads rather technical and seem to describe influence rather than social capital. And while the 2 concepts are related, they are also very different. I can have social capital but no influence. The connections and interactions probably relate more to your level of expertise.
Having said that, I agree that we should try to work on raising the social capital of companies, by raising the positive impact they have on the ecosystem. The latest financial crisis has clearly demonstrated that focusing on maximizing profit does not work, I believe the answer is in Social Capital, as in “trust that you have within the ecosystem”. The hard part is to measure, and I am experimenting with the Vindex (www.venyo.org) to see if it could be an answer. Try it and let me know what you think…
Hi Marc - thanks for checking out our site. You are right, it is possible to have social capital and no influence. My viewpoint on social capital however is slightly different than yours, and I measure it slight different than you do, but nevertheless I am happy there is someone out there in cyberspace who agrees with me at some level (as you say, ‘we should try to work on raising the social capital of companies, by raising the positive impact they have on the ecosystem’).
Michael, at first glance I found your e-book very fascinating. Thanks for sharing 66 pages of tasty dog bones. Really, thank you!
Just to be clear, the “Social Capital Inside the Enterprise” is based on network theory also. Mostly our experiment was one of flat networks. The idea of social capital actually came from my personal interpretation of an image provided by Isaac Mao http://budurl.com/8mwx.
I am wondering if you can setup your blog, so that I am alerted anytime someone comments this entry?
November 8th, 2008 at 4:11 am
I am not sure about the definition of Social Capital assumed here. I went to FG2.com to check and this is what they say:
“Social capital refers to the connections and interactions people share within and between networks - whether through face-to-face conversation or through web-based social applications such as Wordpress, Facebook, and Twitter.”
This definition reads rather technical and seem to describe influence rather than social capital. And while the 2 concepts are related, they are also very different. I can have social capital but no influence. The connections and interactions probably relate more to your level of expertise.
Having said that, I agree that we should try to work on raising the social capital of companies, by raising the positive impact they have on the ecosystem. The latest financial crisis has clearly demonstrated that focusing on maximizing profit does not work, I believe the answer is in Social Capital, as in “trust that you have within the ecosystem”. The hard part is to measure, and I am experimenting with the Vindex (www.venyo.org) to see if it could be an answer. Try it and let me know what you think…
November 10th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Thanks Marc -
In the e-book I tried to follow through on Nan Lin’s description of social capital. His is rooted in network theory. What do you think?
Trust therein, is described as an extrinsic variable of social capital.
In any event, I try not to get too fussed about definitions or the labels like “Social Capital Value Add”.
It doesn’t matter what you call the dog, as long as it brings back a bone.
November 14th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Hi Marc - thanks for checking out our site. You are right, it is possible to have social capital and no influence. My viewpoint on social capital however is slightly different than yours, and I measure it slight different than you do, but nevertheless I am happy there is someone out there in cyberspace who agrees with me at some level (as you say, ‘we should try to work on raising the social capital of companies, by raising the positive impact they have on the ecosystem’).
November 14th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Michael, at first glance I found your e-book very fascinating. Thanks for sharing 66 pages of tasty dog bones.
Really, thank you!
Just to be clear, the “Social Capital Inside the Enterprise” is based on network theory also. Mostly our experiment was one of flat networks. The idea of social capital actually came from my personal interpretation of an image provided by Isaac Mao http://budurl.com/8mwx.
I am wondering if you can setup your blog, so that I am alerted anytime someone comments this entry?
Many thanks, Steve