[p2p-research] Self-organizing principles

Wed Jun 10 12:25:12 CEST 2009

Hi all. I agree on starting a blogpost. I am thinking of the following post,
please review. Thanks in advance.

"*What about communication?*

This above question I asked myself after reading two very inspiring pieces
of work. The first is the PhD. of Mark Elliott, 'Stigmergic Collaboration. A
Theoretical Framework for Mass Collaboration'. The second is a paper from
Paul B. Hartzog, 'The Autocatalysis of Social Systems and the Emergence of
Trust'.

Paul argues that every act of communication is also an act of coordination.
In order to communicate, both agents involved have to agree on the way
communication works, which language is being used. But how do you agree
without communication? Communication seems to be interrelated to
coordination.

Mark argues that stigmergy is a form of self-organizing, without the need
for any communication. This should resolve the coordination paradox. Because
agents leave traces in the system, other agents can act on them. This
indirect form of communication is not directly addressed to anyone, but the
one that notices the trace can act upon it. But how does coordination work
here?

The interesting part is that it seems there are some different approaches.
Paul is talking about direct communication, while Mark talks about indirect
communication. But coordination is always needed. And communication is
always happening. Can stigmergy be the autocatalyst for communication? But
how is communication being agreed upon? Please let us know your opinion.

So why am I discussing this? Currently I am starting to research
self-organization as the new dominant form of organization, and how online
collaborative spaces can play a role there. Very much related to digital
stigmergy, communication and coordination."

2009/5/29 Mark Elliott <me at mark-elliott.net>

> By all means (from my perspective) it's a great area for discussion - might
> get a few comments even...
>
> 2009/5/28 Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004 at gmail.com>
>
> Hi Mark and Bas,
>>
>> perhaps we can republish your distinction on our blog and wiki?
>>
>> Michel
>>
>> 2009/5/28 Mark Elliott <me at mark-elliott.net>
>>
>> Thanks for the feedback Bas. And that's exactly right Michel, stigmergy is
>>> in fact a form of communication, just an indirect one mediated by the
>>> environment.
>>>
>>> I haven't yet had a chance to read Paul's attachment, but I too would
>>> argue that every act of communication also entails coordination. Actually,
>>> as part of my phd, i developed a framework for collective activity that
>>> specifically distinguishes coordination, cooperation and collaboration (pg
>>> 39).
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>> Mark
>>>
>>> 2009/5/25 Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004 at gmail.com>
>>>
>>> Hi Bas,
>>>>
>>>> I think the answer is that stigmergy is indirect, impersonal
>>>> communication, you leave 'holoptic trails' that can be read by whoever will
>>>> need them ... So there is communication if you like, but only indirect ...
>>>>
>>>> Michel
>>>>
>>>> 2009/5/25 Bas Reus <bas.reus at gmail.com>
>>>>
>>>> Hi Mark, Paul, et al.,
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you very much for your responses so far.
>>>>> @Mark: I read your abstract and some other pieces of your PhD. Very
>>>>> inspiring.
>>>>> @Paul: I read the PDF you attached, very inspiring as well.
>>>>>
>>>>> These pieces of work will definately move me to the right directions.
>>>>> Reading the material, I note some differences that cannot be both true, at
>>>>> least in some way. In the PDF Paul sent, you argue that every act of
>>>>> communication is also an act of coordination, while Mark argues that
>>>>> stigmergy is a form of self-organizing, without the need for any
>>>>> communication.
>>>>>
>>>>> What are your thoughts about this? Of course, this conclusion can be
>>>>> rather rough and lacks some theoretical fundaments, but this is a differnce
>>>>> I noticed.
>>>>>
>>>>> Very happy to discuss further as well, as this moves me to the rights
>>>>> directions. Digital stigmergy in the form of mass collaboration, with some
>>>>> rules of engagement set a priori to spark a autopoietic solution might just
>>>>> be the way to go for me. But I'm very open for more suggestions.
>>>>>
>>>>> Kind regards,
>>>>> Bas
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> 2009/5/22 Mark Elliott <me at mark-elliott.net>
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi Bas,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Regarding,
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Wikipedia can be seen as a self-organizing system where online
>>>>>>> collaboration is taking place. This is a great example that we all know. But
>>>>>>> what can be learnt from that? How did it become what it is today? Is it
>>>>>>> because of self-organizing, or where there some rules agreed upon that made
>>>>>>> it happen?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> This is more or less exactly the focus of my phd<http://mark-elliott.net/blog/?page_id=24>- digital stigmergy as a core underlying mechanism in the coordination and
>>>>>> stimulation of online collaboration. Here's the abstract:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> This thesis presents an application-oriented theoretical framework
>>>>>>> for generalised and specific collaborative contexts with a special focus on
>>>>>>> Internet-based mass collaboration. The proposed framework is informed by the
>>>>>>> author’s many years of collaborative arts practice and the design, building
>>>>>>> and moderation of a number of online collaborative environments across a
>>>>>>> wide range of contexts and applications. The thesis provides
>>>>>>> transdisciplinary architecture for describing the underlying mechanisms that
>>>>>>> have enabled the emergence of mass collaboration and other activities
>>>>>>> associated with ‘Web 2.0′ by incorporating a collaboratively developed
>>>>>>> definition and general framework for collaboration and collective activity,
>>>>>>> as well as theories of swarm intelligence, stigmergy, and distributed
>>>>>>> cognition.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Accompanying this creative arts thesis is a DVD-Rom which includes
>>>>>>> offline versions of the three Internet based collaborative environments
>>>>>>> designed, built and implemented in accordance with the frameworks for
>>>>>>> digital stigmergy and mass collaboration developed in the written work. The
>>>>>>> creative works in conjunction with the written thesis help to explore and
>>>>>>> more rigorously define the collaborative process in general, while testing
>>>>>>> the theory that stigmergy is an inherent component of collaborative
>>>>>>> processes which incorporate collective material production.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Supported by a range of contemporary examples of Internet activity,
>>>>>>> including the accompanying creative works, it is found that stigmergy is a
>>>>>>> deeply rooted mechanism inherent in not only traditional material
>>>>>>> collaborative processes, but a range of emerging online practices which may
>>>>>>> be broadly categorised as digital stigmergic cooperation and collaboration.
>>>>>>> This latter class enables the extreme scaling seen in mass collaborative
>>>>>>> projects such as Wikipedia.org, open source software projects and the
>>>>>>> massive, multiplayer environment, Second Life. This scaling is achieved
>>>>>>> through a range of attributes which are examined, such as the provision of a
>>>>>>> localised site of individualistic engagement which reduces demands placed
>>>>>>> upon participants by the social negotiation of contributions while
>>>>>>> increasing capacity for direct and immediate creative participation via
>>>>>>> digital workspaces. Also examined are a range of cultural, economic and
>>>>>>> sociopolitical impacts which emerge as a direct result of mass
>>>>>>> collaboration’s highly distributed, non-market based, peer-production
>>>>>>> processes, all of which are shown to have important implications for the
>>>>>>> further transformation of our contemporary information and media landscape.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> Happy to discuss further :).
>>>>>> Mark
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Wed, May 20, 2009 at 4:51 PM, Michel Bauwens <
>>>>>> michelsub2004 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hi Bas,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I'm copying Gus, and  his initiative on Studies in Emergent Order,
>>>>>>> who may point you to some extra resources
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Mark Elliot studies stygmergy, i.e. communicative swarming,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I'm sure paul's panarchy is also related,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Michel
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Tue, May 19, 2009 at 11:17 PM, Ryan Lanham <rlanham1963 at gmail.com
>>>>>>> > wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopoiesis  is a starting point.
>>>>>>>> There are huge literatures in self-organizing systems in computer science
>>>>>>>> and AI.  There are discussions of self-organization in physics and in
>>>>>>>> communications theory.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I think one of the most accessible and best recent studies is called
>>>>>>>> Wikinomics.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> You might want to look into the literature on social network
>>>>>>>> analysis and join the mailing lists at INSNA which have covered these topics
>>>>>>>> from sociological and mathematical perspectives for several years.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> In biology, you my find your topic goes toward swarm science.
>>>>>>>> Swarms are also heavily discussed in crowdsourcing literatures.  All of
>>>>>>>> these approaches overlap collaboration and self-organization.  There are
>>>>>>>> even literatures in constitutional and legal theory.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Ryan Lanham
>>>>>>>> rlanham1963 at gmail.com
>>>>>>>> Facebook: Ryan_Lanham
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Tue, May 19, 2009 at 10:17 AM, Bas Reus <bas.reus at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> All, this is a repost of a topic started at
>>>>>>>>> http://p2pfoundation.ning.com/. Please advice.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> P2P friends, here a topic on self-organizing. Currently I am trying
>>>>>>>>> to define this theme by making a list of themes that overlap self-organizing
>>>>>>>>> somewhere, and help to define the theme seen from an online collaborative
>>>>>>>>> point of view.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Self-organizing to me can be a system that is highly adaptive,
>>>>>>>>> flexible and 'bottom-up'. When seen from an online collaborative point of
>>>>>>>>> view I tend to think of empowerment and rules of engagement.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Of course Wikipedia can be seen as a self-organizing system where
>>>>>>>>> online collaboration is taking place. This is a great example that we all
>>>>>>>>> know. But what can be learnt from that? How did it become what it is today?
>>>>>>>>> Is it because of self-organizing, or where there some rules agreed upon that
>>>>>>>>> made it happen?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I'd like to be inspired by your thougths on this subject.
>>>>>>>>> Thanks, Bas.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Original topic:
>>>>>>>>> http://p2pfoundation.ning.com/forum/topics/selforganizing-principles
>>>>>>>>> I already got some inspiration from Michel, on some available
>>>>>>>>> research and interests.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>> p2presearch mailing list
>>>>>>>>> p2presearch at listcultures.org
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/p2presearch_listcultures.org
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>> p2presearch mailing list
>>>>>>>> p2presearch at listcultures.org
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/p2presearch_listcultures.org
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> Working at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhurakij_Pundit_University -
>>>>>>> http://www.dpu.ac.th/dpuic/info/Research.html -
>>>>>>> http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Volunteering at the P2P Foundation:
>>>>>>> http://p2pfoundation.net  - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net -
>>>>>>> http://p2pfoundation.ning.com
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Monitor updates at http://del.icio.us/mbauwens
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The work of the P2P Foundation is supported by SHIFTN,
>>>>>>> http://www.shiftn.com/
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> -----
>>>>>> Mark Elliott, PhD
>>>>>> Director, CollabForge pty ltd
>>>>>> collaboration ~ mass collaboration ~ social software
>>>>>> http://Collabforge.com ~ http://Mark-Elliott.net ~
>>>>>> http://MetaCollab.net
>>>>>> Phone: 0421 978 501 (international callers: +614 21 978 501)
>>>>>> Twitter: MarkElliott
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Working at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhurakij_Pundit_University -
>>>> http://www.dpu.ac.th/dpuic/info/Research.html -
>>>> http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI
>>>>
>>>> Volunteering at the P2P Foundation:
>>>> http://p2pfoundation.net  - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net -
>>>> http://p2pfoundation.ning.com
>>>>
>>>> Monitor updates at http://del.icio.us/mbauwens
>>>>
>>>> The work of the P2P Foundation is supported by SHIFTN,
>>>> http://www.shiftn.com/
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> -----
>>> Mark Elliott, PhD
>>> Director, CollabForge pty ltd
>>> collaboration ~ mass collaboration ~ social software
>>> http://Collabforge.com ~ http://Mark-Elliott.net ~ http://MetaCollab.net
>>> Phone: 0421 978 501 (international callers: +614 21 978 501)
>>> Twitter: MarkElliott
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Working at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhurakij_Pundit_University -
>> http://www.dpu.ac.th/dpuic/info/Research.html -
>> http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI
>>
>> Volunteering at the P2P Foundation:
>> http://p2pfoundation.net  - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net -
>> http://p2pfoundation.ning.com
>>
>> Monitor updates at http://del.icio.us/mbauwens
>>
>> The work of the P2P Foundation is supported by SHIFTN,
>> http://www.shiftn.com/
>>
>
>
>
> --
> -----
> Mark Elliott, PhD
> Director, CollabForge pty ltd
> collaboration ~ mass collaboration ~ social software
> http://Collabforge.com ~ http://Mark-Elliott.net ~ http://MetaCollab.net
> Phone: 0421 978 501 (international callers: +614 21 978 501)
> Twitter: MarkElliott
>
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