World Congress of the International Sociological Association

The XVI World Congress of the International Sociological Association will take place in Durban, South Africa, 23-29 July 2006. There will be a session devoted to social network analysis. [snip] If you are interested in giving a presentation, please send a proposal to the session chair before October 1, 2005. For the social network session, that would be Christian Steglich. I'd be happy to assemble a high-quality social networks session.
[via Christian Steglich on the SOCNET mailing list]

networked_performance

networked_performance is an artistic endeavor that combines new technology with performance to develop possibly new art forms. Wouldn't it be great to see some of this at MeshForum?

What is NETWORKED PERFORMANCE ?
locative media, augmented reality, distributed performance, environmental theatre, pervasive play, immersive gaming, telepresence?...???

Recent technological and telecommunication developments--the internet's two-way communication model, relatively inexpensive access to computers and networks--have given rise to a powerful and diverse range of creative production, particularly among those not self-defined as artists, resulting in a bleedover between and across disciplines as people explore unconventional uses of tools and technologies. Current activity indicates that trends emergent from computer network based practice are changing the nature of performance.

Session topics and schedule

This is a draft, proposed session topics and tenative schedule for MeshForum 2005. An updated lsit of topics and schedule will be posted as we refine this. If you are interested in speaking at MeshForum, Sponsoring MeshForum or have any suggestions of people or topics for MeshForum, please email Shannon Clark at shannon at meshforum.org.

Broadly speaking MeshForum 2005 will cover at least the following specific aspects of Networks:

1. Overview of Networks - math and general knowledge about Networks from an interdisciplinary perspective

2. Networks as a Marketing tool - using Networks and a deep, rich understanding of Networks as a way of marketing and selling goods. Experts on marketing via Networks will lead a discussion of the intricacies and details, as well as the ways this can be measured, tracked, and managed.

3. Social Network Analysis - using tools and techniques to gather information about the interactions within a group, often within a company. This analysis is then, generally, used over time to suggest new ways of organizing and managing information and resources within the firm. Speakers will represent practitioners of Social Network Analysis as well as tool providers offering applications to capture, mine, and manage social networks.

4. Logistics - managing networks in the physical, "real world" realm. Panelists will be drawn from firms involved in the movement of goods and people, airlines, package delivery, railroads etc.

5. Network security - specifically what is meant by a "secure" network? Is it resistance to failure via an attack on any random node? (internet) What about attacks targeting a specific node, a hub for example? Can networks be secured against these types of attacks? Are there examples which can be looked at which offer suggestions or alternatives? Panelists and speakers will be drawn from diverse industries including Power Grids, Internet networks (IP networks), Voice networks, and perhaps the military and/or other government agencies.

6. "Big Network" - Media. The "big three" (well now more like 5) networks across TV and radio, and many other forms are important and vital parts of the US economy. Is there more to the term "network" in this context? Speakers may include a former president of CBS radio, and hopefully others from Radio, TV, and the Print media. Will the Internet and peer-to-peer networks including movements such as podcasting change these networks in the future?

7. "Scary networks" - How homeland security is using network analysis, as well as what the concept of "network warfare" is and how understanding it is important. Speaker(s) may be drawn from senior Pentagon leadership and/or observers.

8. Economics of a Network - or "how to make money from a power law". Can studying networks offer insights that suggest ways to make money? From analysis of economic markets to the performance of a corporation, does a "network" lens offer a new and important way to analyze business?

9. Biological Networks - ecological and cellular, does the study of biological systems and the emerging science of "network biology" offer lessons and insights which other people working in Networks can use? Speakers and panelists may be drawn from academic researchers as well as some biotech startups working in this emerging field.

Tentative Schedule for MeshForum

MeshForum - May 1-3, 2005 - will have panels and speakers on many aspects of Networks. A few of the topics which are expected to be covered, as well as an early schedule is below. Suggestions for additional topics, speakers, and panel members are invited.

Sunday - May 1st. Opening reception, welcome remarks. A short presentation on active networking may be offered, networking in the sense of "meeting other people" and one or more art exhibitions/videos/installations may be presented. After the reception one or more local Chicago musical acts will perform for the MeshForum audience.

Monday - May 2nd.

8:00AM - Registration opens and Breakfast is served.

8:30AM - Welcome remarks by Shannon Clark (MeshForum/JigZaw)

8:45AM-9:45 - Opening speaker, offering a survey of the "state of the art" of research on Networks in general, the math and science behind them, and laying out broadly areas of future research and study.

10:00-11:30 - Morning panel(s). Probably continuing the overview of Networks with a discussion of tools and techniques for the mapping, navigating, and analysis of complex networks.

11:45-1:00 - Lunch. During lunch participants will be asked to sit in groups and discuss a specific aspect or type of network they are interested in and/or discuss specific problems they have and are seeking assistance. During the course of lunch presentations may be shown and technical tools (WIKI etc) may be used to help capture and share the discussions at the individual tables.

1:30-2:45 - First Afternoon panel

3:15-5:00 - Second Afternoon panel

[optionally there may be an Afternoon speaker in between the panels. Monday's focus will be on the background, on the survey of types of networks, of the problems and research around networks]

5:30-7:00 - Dinner. Again participants will be encourage to sit in groups around areas of interest. Many participants may be asked to "host" a dinner table.

7:30-10:00 - after dinner performances and screenings. A cash bar and local performers, along with space for informal discussion and continuing interaction.

Tuesday - May 3rd.

8:00 AM - Doors open, Breakfast served

8:30 am - Tuesday opening speaker and introduction. Setting a tone of specific industries and specific problems. The goal for Tuesday is that every participant in MeshForum leave with new ideas, new contacts, and perhaps new approaches for their network issues - whether personal or business.

9:30-11:30 - Tuesday morning panel(s)

11:45-1:00 - Tuesday lunch

1:00-2:00 - extended group discussion, with lunch finished and put away, larger groups/open space will be led by groups of attendees - results will be posted back to the MeshForum WIKI and other resources.

2:30-3:30 - closing panel

3:30-4:30 - ending speaker and closing remarks. We'll end MeshForum on a high note, with a keynote speaker who will help us wrap up the discussion and offer some new perspectives and insights for attendees to leave with.

During both Monday and Tuesday art exhibits and short films will be screened and shown between panels.

Tuesday evening all speakers, panelists, staff (and depending on space attendees) who are interested will have dinner together at a local restaurant.

Wednesday - May 4th.

Optional extra day. This is an option, on May 4th, the organizers of MeshForum may offer an extended open space format day for interested conference attendees - if interested in this extended, unformatted day of working discussion and follow up activity, please leave a comment here and/or make a note of your interest in your registration packets, if there is sufficient interest space will be made available, a small additional fee may be necessary to cover food and space for this extra day - depending on participation and other factors.

Networks in cities and fungi

This is such a great example that I need to quote the entire thing. MeshForum wants contributions from people who have looked into this kind of thing. Monkeymagic: Traffic, Congestion and Information Flows

This is exciting from the New Scientist: apparently New roads can cause congestion. [via 3quarks daily]

Traffic should flow best in cities when only a limited number of roads lead to the centre. This counter-intuitive finding could allow planners to prevent gridlock by closing roads rather than building new ones.

It comes from a new way of thinking about complex networks developed by Neil Johnson, Douglas Ashton and Timothy Jarrett at the University of Oxford, UK.

Fascinatingly, the article goes on to say:

The same process of analysing the costs associated with moving across a network could help solve a long-standing problem in biology: why some natural networks are centralised like cities, whereas others are decentralised like the internet.

"Organisms such as fungi have managed to evolve a complex network in which there are centralised and decentralised pathways to move nutrients around," Johnson says. "Now we can look at biological systems in terms of the 'costs' and 'benefits' of the connections rather than in terms of the physical structures themselves," he says.

Sunbelt 2005

It's a little late to sign up for the 25th International Sunbelt Social Network conference, but there are certainly plenty of synergies with MeshForum. We will keep an eye on their experts too.

The International Sunbelt Social Network Conference is the official conference of the International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA). Located in scenic Redondo Beach, CA, Sunbelt XXV will provide an interdisciplinary venue for social scientists, mathematicians, computer scientists, ethnologists, and others to present current work in the area of social networks. Workshops and conference sessions will allow individuals interested in theory, methods, or applications of social network analysis to share ideas and explore common interests.

MeshForum looking for guest bloggers

Are you interested in networks? Are you interested in how social networks and logistical networks are related? Or maybe how the electrical distribution network can learn from the way bees collect and store honey? Can you tell us?

MeshForum is looking for someone to share their ideas and discoveries about networking for two weeks. Please leave a comment or contact us if you would like to participate. If we get several offers, we will likely run serial guest bloggers.

Leave a comment, or contact us directly. We'll probably operate on first-likely-suspect-first-served basis.

COSIN: Complex Networks

Through Portals and KM, we discover

There is a Conference on Complex Networks: Evolution and Statistical Properties" - COSIN2005 Salou (Tarragona), Spain, March 14-18, 2005. Certainly, Tarragona is a good place to discuss complexity and a nice time ot be there. COSIN is a consortium, sponsored by the European Union, that has been involved the last three years in complex networks. The funding ends at 2005 and this is the final meeting. It is open to anyone interested in the different aspects of the complex network field.The call for papers ends Feb. 15. Contact the COSIN organizing committee at the COSIN site if you are interested.

MeshForum Dinner Feb 17th, NYC

If you would like to join us at the following event, please contact us for an evite to RSVP.

Please join us Feb 17th at 7pm at Cendrillon for a dinner of people interested in MeshForum and networks. MeshForum ( http://www.meshforum.org ) is a conference on Networks and their effect on society, which will be held May 1-3 in Chicago.

MeshForum's topics will range from social networks to biological systems to logistics to power grids. Bringing together a diverse mix of academics, business leaders, and public sector experts, MeshForum will be a conference of ideas mapped to action. In a mixed format of speakers, panels, and active discussions, attendees will share their expertise and learn from the experiences and research of others.

Topic areas include:
+ How can businesspeople use online networks to increase their sales?
+ How homeland security is using network analysis
+ Insights of social network analysis for improving business performance.
+ Logistics of complex transportation networks
+ Economics of a Network - or "how to make money from a power law".
+ The Mathematics of Networks

The MeshForum dinner on Feb. 17th will be a chance for New Yorkers interested in networks to meet each other and learn more about MeshForum.

If you are interested in MeshForum, join Shannon and David for a delicious meal at one of NYC's hidden gems, Cendrillon restaurant at 45 Mercer.

RSVP via Evite is requested. Please indicate any dietary requirements in your response. Dinner will be family style from a prix fixe menu set at $40/person + beverages, tax & gratuity. Cendrillon's full menu, directions and reviews can be
found at their website, http://www.cendrillon.com.

We look forward to sharing dinner with you on the 17th,

Shannon Clark
David Teten

Online Social Networks 2005

Online Social Networking 2005

I will be participating in the Online Social Networks 2005 conference. I hope that many people interested in MeshForum will join me at it virtually, and then meet up in person at MeshForum May 1-3 here in Chicago.

On Feb 17th, I, along with many other participants (and non-participants alike) will be at a dinner in NYC. Email me privately or leave your contact info here in a comment to get the evite to the event in Soho on the 17th.

Social networks for newbies

elearnspace points to a useful presentation by Barry Wellman in Social Networks for Newbies:

A terrific introduction to social network analysis: Social Networks Analysis for Newbies (.ppt). On a side note, SNA is a new addition to most corporations. Elearning faced an interesting battle in finding its place most organizations - technology or training department. SNA will be similarily confused - is it a training concern? or knowledge management? IT? or strategic (i.e. a C-level activity)?

Update: fixed a broken link