Interpersonal Ties

This, from Wikipedia, the free, on-line encyclopedia, about interpersonal ties:

In mathematical sociology, interpersonal ties are defined as information-carrying connections between people. Interpersonal ties, generally, come in three varieties: strong, weak, or absent. Weak social ties, it is argued, are responsible for the majority of the embeddedness and structure of social networks in society as well as the transmission of information through these networks. Specifically, more novel information flows to individuals through weak rather than strong ties. Because our close friends tend to move in the same circles that we do, the information they receive overlaps considerably with what we already know. Acquaintances, by contrast, know people that we do not, and thus receive more novel information. Included in the definition of absent ties, according to Granovetter, are those relationships (or ties) without substantial significance, such as "nodding" relationships between people living on the same street, or the "tie", for example, to a frequent vendor one would buy from. Furthermore, the fact that two people may know each other by name does not necessarily qualify the existence of a weak tie. If their interaction is negligible the tie may be absent. The "strength" of an interpersonal tie is a linear combination of the amount of time, the emotional intensity, the intimacy (or mutual confiding), and the reciprocal services which characterize each tie.

Anyone interested in these ideas should read the entire Wikipedia article, follow the links, and read the references.

Entrepreneurs needs to know this body of information so that they can analyze their social capital. We have very rich tools to analyze our financial fundamentals. Mathematical sociology gives us tools to analyze our social fundamentals.

All my professional activities are entrepreneurial. And if this grabs you, post a comment. For entrepreneurial real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for entrepreneurial writing, to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Information and Entrepreneurs

Information is key to everyone, entrepreneurs maybe more so. Wikepedia, the free, on-line encyclopedia, describes information as:

"The state of a system of interest, any represented pattern, any type of pattern that influences the formation or transformation of any other patterns."

Anyone interested in this should read the entire Wikipedia article and go to its references and links.

Information can be anything: the number of angels on the head of a pin, the weather forecast, the attitudes of a spouse, the number of widgets you sold last month. Brown and Duguid, in The Social Life of Information (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2002), include in it "the fuzzy stuff around the edges--context, background, history, common knowledge, social resources" (p. 1). Their point is that too often we "tunnel through." To quote them:

But this stuff around the edges is not as irrelevant as it may seem. It provides valuable balance and perspective. It holds alternatives, and ignore the fuzzy stuff which holds alternatives, offers breadth of vision, and indicates choices. It helps clarify purpose and support meaning. Indeed, ultimately it is only with the help of what lies beyond it that any sense can be made of the information that absorbs so much attention. (pp. 1-2)

Entrepreneurs have to keep their view wide and not suffer from tunnel vision, not rely on data to the extent that they ignore context and background. And above all, they have to see information as more than data.

This is my entrepreneurship course. If something grabbed you, post a comment. Entrepreneurship informs everything I do. For entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for entrepreneurial writing and publishing go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com