Facebook and a Fictional Religion
A recent article in Wired points to a study that shows the average 6 degrees of separation commonly accepted as the distance between any two individuals is shortened on Facebook. Naturally, that got me wondering about the fictional religion Bokononism and how that might apply to Social media strategy.
Facebook users are on average only 4 degrees separated from each other. (Facebook blog post on the subject and so much more!)
In Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, we are introduced to a fictional religion which is best described by Wikipedia:
A foundation of Bokononism is that the religion, including its texts, is formed entirely of lies; however, one who believes and adheres to these lies will have peace of mind, and perhaps live a good life.
I highly suggest you read this book for the full background, or check out the wiki entry to appreciate the true genius of this religion.
Anyhow - what is important to us is a tenant of this fake outlawed, fake religion is the (fake) idea of a Karass - group of people who, often unknowingly, are working together to do God’s will. The group can be thought of as the fingers that support a cat’s cradle (wiki)
Think of a Karass as the human version of quantum entanglement, when two particles are connected and influencing eachother through space with no visible connection.
A Karass is a group of people whose fates - whose lives - are intertwined with each other. Social networks solidify the karass into an object - a social graph- and allow us to look at them individually, like tribes.
Of course, a Karass is a fictional idea - but it lends itself well to thinking of social graphs as massive multi-cellled organisims who may share a common end after all. As individyuals we may not be aware of our networks choices and actions, but that whole may have a distinct personality that can be harnessed or influenced.
Hmm…
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worldisoyster posted this
