tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20402273.post5414482217176926545..comments2024-03-29T09:37:48.358+00:00Comments on Alan Winfield's Web Log: On Twitter and Machiavellian IntelligenceAlan Winfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263812573346115168noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20402273.post-37618409365519287092011-02-21T18:18:14.559+00:002011-02-21T18:18:14.559+00:00Actually I think Dunbar's main contribution is...Actually I think Dunbar's main contribution is to thinking about the evolution of time budgets. I certainly optimise my twitter following stream for maximum interest / time allocated, with the hope that everyone I really follow I can read every day, while I have lists for days when I'm bored or procrastinating. I'm not sure cognitive load is as big a deal as temporal load. <br /><br />Also, weirdly, I don't care who follows me on twitter, as long as they are real people & they don't follow implausibly many other people & there are a lot of them :-) For specific people I hope they read my papers or at least my web site. In fact, I mostly just hope they *cite* my papers :-). For whatever reason, I think of twitter as an alternative to my "real" professional persona, though obviously it is a highly public persona.Joanna Brysonhttp://twitter.com/j2brysonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20402273.post-34356992811250589982011-02-19T23:50:05.027+00:002011-02-19T23:50:05.027+00:00Thank you kindly José and Ann for your comments.
...Thank you kindly José and Ann for your comments.<br /><br />José: indeed. Internet mediated social networking (and the AI behind it) plays to and, perhaps, amplifies our very human social instincts.<br /><br />Ann: very good points about the Dunbar number (the upper cognitive limit on the number of people one can maintain a social relationship with). Although debated the value most commonly given is 150. It would be interesting to see if the average no of Twitter connections falls below this number (I bet it does).Alan Winfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08263812573346115168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20402273.post-59601851364590413272011-02-17T17:06:50.099+00:002011-02-17T17:06:50.099+00:00Ah but beware - you're heading towards the Dun...Ah but beware - you're heading towards the Dunbar number. You've screeched past family and are getting towards tribe. Soon, the energy costs of all that grooming might be too great.<br /><br />Although maybe I'm wrong. There's no energy costs in being followed; that's the alpha fe/male, who just gets to enjoy having the fleas picked off. The costs come in being a follower (groomer), and perhaps one follows many fewer people.Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16220422013580537266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20402273.post-47025518761470483432011-02-16T13:39:44.688+00:002011-02-16T13:39:44.688+00:00Maybe this is an example of the fact, that after a...Maybe this is an example of the fact, that after all, machines and AI just remind us how human we are.Joséhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05895557272447025125noreply@blogger.com