Cross' Network Roundtable

From Bruce Hoppe: The Network Roundtable is off and running

Rob Cross recently kicked off the Network Roundtable at the University of Virginia. Stay tuned to this initiative over the coming months; it is sure to generate useful insights in driving business results with the power of social network analysis. There are six applied research projects already underway:

• Client Connectivity: Generating Value at the Client Interface with Network Analysis
• Innovation: Driving Innovation and Top Line Revenue Growth with a Network Perspective
• Leadership Development: Enhancing Leadership Effectiveness and Resilience via Network Management
• Organizational Change: Facilitating Large Scale Change with a Network Perspective
• Well-Being at Work: Promoting Employee Well-Being through Relational Constellations at Work
• Communities of Practice: Assessing and Supporting Communities of Practice with Network Analysis

Revised Introduction to social network methods

Introduction to Social Network Methods: Table of Contents

Prof Hanneman recently posted to SOCNET about the update on this extensive introduction to social network methods. The entire book is available online and is freely useable and redistributable.

It is an introductory text but a great addition to the resources available online.

From MeshForum's perspective it would be useful to look at this introduction and see what techniques or approaches from disciplines other than Social Network Analysis might be usefully added to this overview to extend the scope to a larger set of networks.

Network science summer school

Interesting. Network Science Summer School, in Trieste

Greetings from lovely Trieste, Italy. I am here for slightly more than a week,
to participate (that is, give a bunch of lectures) at the School and Workshop on
Structure and Function of Complex Networks, at the Abdus Salam International
Centre for Theoretical Physics.

A vision for MeshForum

MeshForum is dedicated to fostering research and education about networks. We believe that understanding networks is key to understanding the 21st century. Our conferences, website, WIKI and other activities all seek to bring together academics from many fields with business, military, and public sector leaders to share experiences, exchange knowledge, and build a greater understanding of the networks that connect us all.

Towards this end we held MeshForum 2005 on May 1-4 of 2005 and are beginning the planning for MeshForum 2006, likely May 7-9 of 2006. We hope to hold a series of seminars and dinners during 2005 and 2006 leading up to MeshForum 2006.

We are also exploring other ways we can help grow and foster greater knowledge about networks.

One approach I am proposing here and requesting help and suggestions for, is to build a multi-disciplinary introduction to Networks. Starting as freely available content on the web, it hopefully can also grow to include a publication (or publications) for use offline.

In this introduction we would seek to synthesize the great diversity of basic definitions and understanding of networks - highlighting how fields as diverse as mathematics, physics, sociology, transportation engineering, communication studies, and computer science each have slightly different definitions and focuses when studying networks. By bringing together these different approaches, illustrating them with practical experience and case studies from non-academics, and providing references for further research and reading we can add greatly to the available resources.

Our audience for this would be both academics and non-academics. The goal would be to pull together the many different yet related approaches and as we describe them also highlight some of the many innovative approaches specific researchers and fields of study are employing - with the thought that many of these approaches could help people in very different fields address new and different problems.

Anyone want to help us with this project?

Ode to the cc:

At MeshForum, Esther Dyson and Edward Vielmetti's conversation after lunch inspired her to write the followingode to the Cc: line on Flickr - Photo Sharing!.

Consider the next MeshForum

Dean Landsman has some interesting things to say about MeshForum, and he didn't even attend. Use this as an argument to consider attending our next event! DeanLand: Crystal Mesh (second entry):

My friend, fellow blogger, and zip code neighbor Howard Greenstein attended (and was a presenter) at Mesh Forum. Many interesting sessions, and great blogging commentary and reportage from Howard (et al, see the links) on his blog. ... A good many of the topic areas at [Freedom to Connect] were also covered at MeshForum. Howard's report on MeshForum makes it seem like one worth paying closer attention to (and yes, attending) next year.

Rand Corporation - Networks and Netwars

Networks and Netwars: The Future of Terror, Crime, and Militancy

Summary:
The fight for the future is not between the armies of leading states, nor are its weapons those of traditional armed forces. Rather, the combatants come from bomb-making terrorist groups like Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda, or drug smuggling cartels like those in Colombia and Mexico. On the positive side are civil-society activists fighting for the environment, democracy and human rights. What all have in common is that they operate in small, dispersed units that can deploy anywhere, anytime to penetrate and disrupt. They all feature network forms of organization, doctrine, strategy, and technology attuned to the information age. And, from the Intifadah to the drug war, they are proving very hard to beat.

Annotated bibliography of Social Network Analysis

From Bruce Hoppe and Patti Anklam posted to Connectedness an "Annotated Bibliography of Social Network Analysis for Business".

This is a great resource for anyone interested in MeshForum. Many of the participants at MeshForum 2005 are represented in this list either directly (as in the case of Ross Dawson) or indirectly by way of research partners and associations (Dr. Almaas who works in Dr. Barabasi's lab; Noshir Contractor who has worked with Dr. Wasserman among others etc.)

It is notable, however for lacking some branches of networks research, such as Dr. Nagurney's work on network economics, supernetworks, transportation networks, and the like or indeed much of the large body of engineering research into networks of many types.

Still with that caveat, a fantastic resource and a good starting point for anyone interested in Networks.

Net Centric Operations conference

Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog: Speaking at Ronald Reagan Building Next Wednesday

Next week Thomas P. M. Barnett will be the keynote speaker at a conference focused on a topic which we heard about at MeshForum 2005. At MeshForum 2005, John Garstka of the Office of Force Transformation shared a bit with us about net-centric operations, next week Dr. Barnett will be speaking to a conference focused on the topic.

Jamais Cascio's talk at MeshForum 2005

Jamais Cascio has published the text of his talk at MeshForum 2005 atWorldChanging: Another World Is Here: The Rise of the Participatory Panopticon.

We would like to thank Jamais for attending MeshForum and for giving this talk about the near future of networked, always on devices.

Bloggers at MeshForum 2005

In case you haven't see them otherwise, there were a bunch of bloggers at MeshForum 2005. When a speaker asked who reads and who blogs, nearly everyone in the audience is a blog reader and many write as well.

Here are the people I know about

• Buzz Bruggeman of ActiveWords
• Ed Vielmetti of Socialtext and Ann Arbor
• Howard Greenstein of NYU
• Michael Herman of GlobalChicago
• Jamais Cascio of WorldChanging
• Esther Dyson (photoblog) of Release 1.0, PC Forum and CNet
• Shannon Clark the organizer of MeshForum, owner of JigZaw
• me! Jack Vinson of Knowledge Jolt

Here is the set of all Flickr photos tagged with meshforum2005 (from Ed, Esther, Howard, others coming later). There's even a picture of me, Buzz and Ed. I saw that Ed was going wild with Del.icio.us links tagged for meshforum2005. For some reason Technorati isn't coming back with much for meshforum2005, but plenty for meshforum.

Let me know if I missed anyone, and I'll add them.

Monday May 2nd 2005 Announcements

MeshForum 2005 started last night with our opening reception and performance by local musician Anne Harris and her band.

Monday May 2nd will feature a steller lineup of speakers and panels, it is not too late to register and join us for MeshForum 2005. Registration opens at 8:00am at HotHouse at 31 E. Balbo - full conference as well as single day rates are still available.

Monday morning breakfast will be a selection of fruits and baked goods, as well as coffee, tea, water, soda and juice available.

After getting a small breakfast we will start with a short introduction by me, Shannon Clark. The I will have the pleasure of introducing Dr. Anna Nagurney who will start us off with an overview of Networks.

Following her, we will screen a short documentary on the Yellow Arrow project, the first of five very different artists (and artist groups) whose works we will be screening as part of MeshForum 2005.

Then Valdis Krebs and Eszter Hargittai will present on Emergent Communities.

Over lunch Ross Dawson will moderate our Living Networks forum, for more information see the evolving WIKI pages for the Forum in the MeshForum eventspace.

The Lunch Menu includes: BBQ Chicken and Seasoned Chicken over rice. Vegetable Kabobs. Chopped Salad with Pork Tenderloin. Blue Cheese Potato Salad. Yukon Gold Smashed Potatoes. And a small dessert selection.

After lunch, Esther Dyson and Edward Vielmetti will lead a conversation on Social Networks.

Then after a short break and our second Interstitial - (works by Jean Marc Munerelle most likely and depending on timing may screen works by Alan Sondheim as well).

Then we continue with Dr. Noshir Contractor on the coevolution of knowledge networks and 21st century ways of organizing.

Jamais Cascio follows with a discussion about the Participatory Panopticon.

And we close our panels and speakers for Monday with a presentation by Buzz Bruggeman and John Kennedy on Networks and Sales.

After that discussion, we will have dinner.

On the menu for dinner:

SkrineChops (very well spiced and prepared pork chops)
Grilled Scallops
Chopless Salad
Yukon Gold Smashed Potatoes
Vegetable Medley
Chicken Vegetable Kabobs
and a small dessert.

A selection of very good red and white wines will be available.

After dinner, all MeshForum attendees who wish are invited to stay for the performance by Yoke Noge and Jazz Me Blues Band.

From their website:

Yoko performs with six Chicago legends featuring former Count Basie Band member John Watson on trombone. Legendary Chicago musician Jimmy Ellis on alto sax. The man of the year(Chicago Tribune)Tatsu Aoki on bass. Sweet and swinging soprano sax by Clark Dean. The wonderful drummer with the great beat, Avreeayl Ra. Please join our beautiful Monday audience of listeners, swing dancers, European and Asian visitors, business men and women from the loop, and Chicagoans from the South, North and West.

MeshForum program book

The MeshForum 2005 Program Book (pdf) is available to those who aren't able to attend.