In the next phase of a social computing consulting project I’m engaged upon, one of the more interesting questions will centre around the issue of ‘control.’
In a situation where you’re creating, searching for and gathering information, at what point do you say the tone of what you’re seeing is out of whack with that which allows you to take in the underlying message you need to hear? This moves beyond the profane rant or personal attack. Attempting to frame the argument and a solution, Jeff Nolan suggests:
I tune out rants in comment threads, unless they are exceptionally well informed rants. The challenge is sorting through the rants to find the good ones. The Digg method of thumbs up/down for comments, as well as the source articles, only goes so far, what is required are additional subjective measures for tone and bias.
Phew…that’s a tough ask. The old saying still rings true that: “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.” Is it therefore realistic to create subjective filters that will allow meaning and context to still come through? Can that accommodate different perspectives within a group environment? Group dynamics and other management specialists are welcome to add their 2 penn’orth. My gut feel says this approach sows seeds for conflict.
The project I’m working has an element of inbuilt ‘rant’ to it and there is some concern that participants should feel free to express their concerns but in a safe manner.
In my case, this is not an issue of control but one of safety. In one sense it is the antithesis of Jeff’s proposition. We need to provide a safe environment where people are free to discuss, argue and resolve sometimes complex yet important issues. That too is a tough ask.
I believe that new ways of interacting and collaborating will expose these kinds of issue in ways we have yet to understand. Jeff’s argument is reasonable on a day-to-day basis and should serve as a reminder that information filtering is as yet a nascent art.
But as many important management decisions are taken at times of crisis, or inflection points that could change the course of a company, isn’t it better to let conversations take their natural course? Do we really need those filters in those circumstances? I think not.
Either way, navigating these potentially rough seas will be messy.
