Though it sounds advanced, the principle of balanced transitivity is important for every digital strategist who designs network experiences.
What is transitivity?
Connected by James Fowler and Nicholas Christakis describes the concept well. The hypothesis is that networks that show balance generally produce the best results. Networks are composed of participants who either do or don’t know each other. And some networks are composed of people who both do and don’t know each other. Confusing? What it means is that the degree of familiarity of participants bears on the way that the networks perform – what they can accomplish.
Transitivity is measured on a scale of 0-1.0. Zero transitivity means that participants in a network do not know other participants in the network. Transitivity having a value of 1.0 means that everyone knows each other well. Measurements in between mean that some people do and some people don’t. A transitivity of .5 would mean that an equal number of people do and don’t know each other. I am over-simplifying the concept but hopefully you understand the idea.
Why is transitivity important?
Transitivity is important because it influences the dynamics of networks. In terms of the Ingagement Model, it affects how network value is generated by people, connection, and exchange. Based upon our experience with very large (“dense”) networks, Fowler/Christakis’s observation resonates. If for instance everyone knows each other – where would new ideas come from? And on the other hand, if no one knows each other, how is trust developed? It is not uncommon to see business and government fail in supporting network communication when they go in either direction – either limiting the composition of those participating to those who know each other, or conversely, simply implementing technology that supports public outreach without the supporting participation of internal project teams. So balance is key.
The takeaway. The principle of balanced transitivity can easily be extended to almost any network in business, education, and government. If you are a digital strategist, planning for balance makes sense.
If I think back to our experiences with Imagine New York and the World Trade Center, the success of the project illustrates the concept. There were over 100 stakeholder groups supported by the New York Municipal Arts Society. Yet they outreached to people all over the world who brought many points of view. Imagine New York had balance. It generated a multitude of design possibilities – both for the reconstruction as well as the memorial. There are many parallel examples in media, education and business.
Will the internal project teams and working groups for your company or government agency participate in the network that they create, and will they welcome others (those who they don’t know well)? If Fowler and Christakis are right, achieving balanced transitivity many well be the key to your next project’s success.
Twitter @kpkfusion
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- See Connected, James Fowler, Nicholas Christakis, pages 19-22.
- This reminds me of the discussion of hybrid networks in the Starfish and the Spider by Rod Beckstrom and Ori Brafman. A hybrid network would also be characterized by balanced transitivity – small working groups supporting a large public network.
