Learning with the Fang

Updated conclusion from an earlier post.

Stigmergy is a class of behaviour in which collective activity is coordinated through the individuals’ response to and modification of their local environment—one agent’s modification becomes another’s cue .

Jan 2005 Map of the Internet
Originally uploaded by matthewjetthall

CONCLUSION (V2.0)

So, I have discovered a word (stigmergy) that has helped me find a bunch of research into the similarities between the experiences I have had on the ‘Read/Write Web’ and other interesting phenomena – ant behaviour, swarm intelligence, neural networks, cell dynamics, post scarcity economics and self organization. Response to and organization of the environment is key to the concept of stigmergy – being able to modify (write to) the internet is the new big deal underpinning ‘Web2.0’.

The tracks we leave on the internet with our seemingly random acts of blogging, RSS subscription, podcasting, flickr uploads, twitter tweets etc are remarkably similar to the pheromone trails laid down by wandering ants, the tracks in wild grass that grew into pathways and eventually roadways or the staggering array of neural connections in our brains that strengthen, weaken, form and decay over time.

By examining conditions for ephemeralization we can see friction reduce toward ‘tipping points’ or inversions that we can only understand by adopting radically different thought patterns or frameworks of understanding. For example the impact of the open source movement on software development, the post scarcity abundance of online media distribution and the approaching digital education revolution (and I don’t mean Aussie politicians handing out $ for laptops).

Fang - Mike Seyfang

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