This presentation gives an overview of the importance of meta networks, which are decentralized networks of networks based on shared values and goals. The presentation also summarizes some of the tools and methods that can make meta networks more visible, intelligent, and useful.

1. Tools & Services that
Make Meta Networks
More Intelligent
A social business proposal.

2. What Networks Are Good For
• Weaving community – increasing & using social
capital.
• Accessing diverse perspectives.
• Building & sharing knowledge.
• Mobilizing people.
• Coordinating resources & action.
From Working Wikily article in Stanford Social Innovation Review, June 2010.

3. Networks come in layers
A Personal Network
(e.g., me and all my contacts)
An Organization‟s Network
(a single org and the networks it is in touch with)
A Single-hubbed network of orgs.
(e.g., Advantage West and its network; a VC; a foundation)
A Meta Network
(a multi-hubbed, decentralized network of networks)

4. Meta Networks:
• Are large networks of networks;
• That are multi-centered – having no single center of
control;
• Yet bound together by trusted relationships and shared
values, goals, and experiences.

5. an example of a social purpose
meta network:
This is an partial map of a small cluster of organizations
that work with social entrepreneurs and their organizations.
The background represents a meta network of related organizations
that is much bigger than this small cluster.

6. Other Meta Network Examples:
 A regional or national network of early-stage
entrepreneurs, economic development agencies, and
investors.
 The global network of organizations and their supporters
who are working on the “Sanitation” Millennium
Development Goal.
 The global network of organizations and individuals
working on clean, sustainable energy solutions and
businesses.

7. The Largest Meta Networks are Global in Reach.
“No one knows how many groups and organizations are working
on the most salient issues of our day: climate change, poverty,
deforestation, peace, water, hunger, conservation, human rights,
and more. This is the largest movement the world has ever seen.
…Large as it is, no one knows the true size of this movement.”
Paul Hawken, May 3, 2009

8. Compared to hierarchically controlled
organizations –
Meta Networks can be:
 More intelligent and adaptable.
 More universally accountable.
 Better able to bring about shifts in global
awareness and behavior.
 Better at distributing ideas, resources, and
talent to where they are most needed.

9. Meta Networks Matter
Individual professionals and their
organizations need more effective
meta networks, especially if they are:
• Entrepreneurial,
• Innovative,
• Have critical goals that are too big to
accomplish by themselves.

10. Meta Networks
• Help solve regional and global problems…
• By making organizations and people more
successful.
Everyone benefits.

11. Results from better meta
networks:
More success due to:
Better collaboration with other organizations.
• Developing & influencing regional policies.
• Better coordination of activities & resources.
• Better sharing of knowledge & ideas.
Inside intelligence, influence & introductions to obtain:
• Funding, partners, customers
• Employees, experts, advisors
• Press contacts, etc.

12. Yet due to their decentralized and fragmented
nature, the potential of meta networks is
much larger than their current capabilities.
Fragmentation means:
Different parts of large networks are
mostly invisible to each other.

13. Why networks are fragmented
To understand the fragmentation of networks, let‟s first look
at the organizations in a sub-section of a meta network,
without showing any connections between them:

14. Why networks are fragmented
If we show some of the trusted personal connections
between individuals in the network, we can see that the
potential connectedness of the network is very big

15. Why networks are fragmented
But this would require that each person in the network be
a perfect reflector -- reflecting all the trust, attention, influence
and ideas coming through each connection back out to all other
connections.

16. Why networks are fragmented
Yet this isn‟t the case; so in reality most of the network
remains hidden to any single organization or small
cluster.

17. Why networks are fragmented
Because to be perfect reflectors, people would have
to be omniscient.
Which we’re not.

18. Why networks are fragmented
Far from omniscient, people are busy and focused on
their own worlds.
So even if I know you and want to help you, I don‟t know most
things about what you know, who you know, and what your
skills, interests, and needs are.
In addition, we‟re all flooded with information from all sources
and have time to take in only a small part of it.
Even though “we’re all connected” the right information
often doesn’t get to the right people at the right time.

19. What are the effects of
hidden network connections?
Fragmentation of the network that impedes flow of
ideas and resources.
Making more mistakes than would be made in a
„brighter‟ meta network.
Delay, excess cost and effort, or failure to deliver
needed money, talent, knowledge and ideas that are
vital for success.

20. And the effects of more light?
Even a small meta network, with fewer than 100
organizations, contains at least hundreds of
thousands of trusted and relevant connections
within 2 degrees, and at least several million
Within 3 degrees.
(2 degrees = contacts of your contacts; 3 degrees = contacts of those contacts)
If that many relevant and trusted connections exist,
and if most are hidden to you and your organization,
what more could you achieve if the network were
even a little brighter – and more intelligent?

21. What can make networks
brighter and more intelligent?
Five things:
.
1. Illuminating more of the useful but hidden connections.
2. Getting more people to make better use of existing tools.
3. Weaving the network to make it brighter and smarter.
4. Adding capabilities to make existing platforms more
intelligent.
5. Making use of a more visible network to expand
knowledge-sharing, dialogue and collaboration.
We’ll look briefly at each of these.

22. 1. Illuminate more of the useful but
currently hidden connections.
Solutions to this already exist:
.
Global-scale Social Network Platforms.
Social network platforms solve the „omniscience‟ problem by having
each person tell the network what and who he knows.
Then the network can combine and use all that information to make
hidden 2nd and 3rd degree connections visible and accessible.
Users can search for their immediate needs, and also see whom
they know who can provide inside intelligence, influence, and
introductions.

23. 2. Get more people in the network
expertly using existing tools
For all their popularity, global social network platforms are
surprisingly underused in the ways that could most help
organizations and networks.
Training is important, and so is encouragement from their
peers to get into the habit of using these tools to accomplish
priority goals of their organizations and the network as a
whole.

24. 3. Weave the network to make it
brighter and smarter
A network weaver is someone who intentionally weaves connections
that create mutual value and lasting trust.
Network weaving is a skill, and some people are naturally good at it.
Yet, it‟s important to have a good strategies and training for making
connections that will create most value and make the network smarter.
Because an important part of network weaving is knowing about
network members‟ skills and needs, social network platforms can help
make network weavers more effective. Social network platforms can
also actually help the network members weave themselves together.

25. 4. Add software capabilities to make
existing platforms more intelligent.
For various reasons, global-scale social network platforms
have not yet added some advanced capabilities that can
be especially valuable for organizations and networks.
Global platforms still have great value; but we and others
are developing additional capabilities that can make them
still more valuable (described briefly later).

26. 5. Use the increased light to expand
knowledge-sharing, dialogue & collaboration.
With more visibility and omniscience in the network,
individuals can more easily “self-organize” into small
groups with the perspectives and expertise needed to
analyze problems, innovate, and produce better
solutions, polices and decisions.
When forming collaborative groups, getting input from
trusted personal connections can be very important for
evaluating how well different people will work together.

27. Next Steps

28. These five tasks will involve two types
of social businesses:
1. Enabling Meta Network Enhancement Projects.
This first approach is a services approach:
Consulting, training, coaching, community building.
2. Designing and adding new software and
Web services for Meta Networks.
This second approach is a software development
process: Designing, developing, and implementing
interoperability between collaborative projects.

29. Meta Network Enhancement Projects
Learning to walk before running, our first step will be:
Launching a short-term, low-cost,
Meta Network Demonstration Project
for one or more selected network hubs.

30. Meta Network Demonstration Project
(Summary)
Will:
• Last 3 to 4 months.
• Involve a cluster of organizations that is a part of a larger network.
• Require minimum cost and participant time.
• Produce tangible results related to critical participant objectives.
Project objectives will be related to goals at different levels:
• Goals and priorities of individual project members and their
organizations .
• Goals shared by participating project member organizations.
Priorities of individuals members and their organizations are likely to include obtaining
new partners, customers/clients, investors, donors, employees, advisors, knowledge,
ideas , expertise, and sources of influence.

31. Meta Network Demonstration Project
(Summary)
Demonstration project components may include:
• Identifying priority project objectives.
• Use of a “seed group” strategy.
• Training in use of existing social network and social media tools and
platforms.
• Network Weaving training and coaching.
• Help in implementing a viral campaign to ensure maximum
participation and results.
• On-going collection of results related to objectives.
• Learning sessions, e.g., sharing best practices and solutions.
• Project evaluation and determination of desired next steps.

32. Software and Web Services to
Enhance Network Intelligence
Includes
Data Integration
IT projects that integrate private data and apps with „public‟ social
network platform data and apps.
Developing intelligent add-on social apps
to combine and extend existing social media platforms.

33. Network Intelligence-Enhancing Software
.
Our first steps for this will be:
Designing a framework and first simple apps
that add value to existing platforms.
This will include a simplified trust-exchangeTM layer to enable user-
customizable control of access to attention and private content.
The trust-exchange layer will support other add-on applications,
including:
- Dynamic social network mapping.
- Support for network weaving.
- Diversity-synthesizing reputation systems.
-Context-sensitive attention management.
- Tools for scaling dialogue & collaboration.

34. These two initial projects will be carried out by
members of
The Social Catalysts Collaborative.
.
Including:
Duncan Work. Inventor & designer of social software for the Internet;
organizational consultant. former Chief Scientist for LinkedIn.
June Holley, Network Weaver, NetworkWeaver.com
Network mapping and analysis, network weaving, self-organizing communities
And others listed at www.socialcatalysts.com/partners.html

35. This has been a high-level overview.
For more detailed information on our rationale and plans for
Meta Network Expansion Projects
and
Network Intelligence-Enhancing Software
Please write to request a confidential executive summary and
social business proposal.
Duncan Work
duncan@socialcatalysts.com