A Critical Reflection On Professional Networking Theories.

Having delved into the world of professional networking I am beginning to think that networks are as diverse, complex and unique as the human beings who use them. It's almost impossible to try and recreate your network to look like someone else's as it consists of different people, relationships and experiences. However it is beneficial to observe learn from other peoples networks and their networking theories.

In this blog I will critically reflect on the theories explored in the

course reader.

Cooperation

is closely linked with the Game Theory. Its origins lie in the desire to model games where one player succeeds at another's expense (The Networked Professional Course Reader, 2010. pg. 2) After reading this opening statement defining Cooperation and exploring Axelrod's TIT FOR TAT theory, at a first glance I couldn't help but think it was a little selfish. However i looked further into this and played an online game of Prisoner's Dilemma. I can see how this tactic of mirroring your opponents move, was successful in playing a game but am not convinced it would work effectively in my professional network.

For example if one party was going through a dry patch and had nothing to give the response would be to give nothing back in return! Thus becoming stuck in a rut...

However looking more closely at Axelrod's theory I came across altruism...
 An especially interesting form of cooperative behaviour is called "altruism" where it costs the individual performing the behaviour and benefits the recipient. Such "charitable" behaviour appears to go against Darwinian notions of evolution by natural selection on individual success, since cooperation should only evolve if the individual gets more out of it than they put in (http://bio150.chass.utoronto.ca/)
Reading about Altruism and reciprocal altruism, which is defined by http://www.everythingbio.com/ as 'an apparently altruistic behavior performed with the understanding that the recipient will reciprocate at some future date' (which sounds like Tit for Tat) helped me to understand a little bit more about cooperation however I'm still unsure about how or whether I'd like to build this into my Professional Network.
Affiliation
Affiliation is a concept that 'seeks to explain why humans for close relationships' (Crisp & Turner, 2007 pg 266) I guess this goes back to the very beginning... Adam had a perfect relationship with God but then God
said 'it's not good for man to be alone' and created Eve, his helper. Could this be the start of a social network?!
The question is raised in the course reader 'If experienced and influential individuals are likely to be at their preferred level of affiliation, why is it common for them to still assist younger, less experienced individuals?'
I think that our natural desire to be in relationship means that we value, on some level all the relationships we have. I personally delight in being able to pass on knowledge to a younger person or up and coming performer. I questioned why this is such a satisfying feeling and concluded that it could be for many reasons.. Possibly because I value the people who passed their knowledge and experience on to me and want to keep the cycle going. I also enjoy seeing others progress in advance in an industry I'm passionate about after all if they are learning or gaining from something I've already experienced then it takes nothing away from me! If i was the CEO of a large company it would probably be in my best interest to invest in a young intern as they may be the one to keep the business going long after I've left...of course this is just speculation. The other question raised was 'how do we attract those individuals into our professional networks that we wish to benefit from?'. I don't have a structured answer for this, but i could only draw on my experience as someone being drawn into others professional networks and to question why i would be willing to be part of a particular network or on the other hand the times when i would decline. For me it all boils down to the strength of the relationship i have with that person. This may only have been a brief encounter but the impressions they left of them self has quite a significant effect on my willingness to get involved in their network.

Connectivism
Connectivism is taking more and more president in our society with social media on the increase.

'Social media sites are a critical component in professional networking, career success, and career development going forward. Social media sites will play an increasing role in networking, career advancement, and professional success.' http://humanresources.about.com/od/careernetworking/a/social_media.htm (accessed 23.11.10) 

Connectivism provides an explanation about how networks provide the means for individuals to connect and learn from and within the network. (Course reader,2010, pg 8).
I have found that connnectivism plays a significant role throughout this course. Rather than being taught via text books and having to memorize facts and figures as some of us may have done in the past. The BAPP course very much allows us to see our tutors and the readers as nodes. As we interact with one another on our blogs, posting and commenting and developing our own lines of inquiry we create our own experience and are learning in quite a unique way. As Stephen Downes states

    "to teach is to model and demonstrate, to learn is to practice and reflect."
(Wikipedia, accessed 23.11.10)

For me learning in this way helps me to engage my brain and question what I am learning thus gaining a deeper level of understanding rather than just being fed information and regurgitating it at the right time.
Community of Practice
Learning as a process of engagement in social relationships. (course reader, 2010, pg15)
At a first glance I highly value the idea of communities of practice. Learning from others within a community can be as valuable as learning from your own experience.
Experience has long been considered the best teacher of knowledge. since we cannot experience everything, other people's experiences, and hence other people, become the surrogate for knowledge' Karen Stephenson, undated.
I wonder whether how effective it would be to be a part multiple communities? Or would you be able to expand your knowledge through being involved with many different groups and meeting a large volume of people?
The Industry Hangout that I mentioned in my last blog is an example of a community of practice i have developed in my professional network. We have all come together with similar interest(creative/entertainment business), but importantly for all of us their is no sense of selfish gain, this community has been primarily built on friendship so there is no risk of being 'stabbed in the back'. Karen Stephenson talks about trust on her website. Well worth a listen...
http://www.drkaren.us/KS_video01.htm
Trust is...'Underlying force that is holding together a network' (Stephenson, K. http://www.drkaren.us/ accessed 23.11.10)

References:
The Networked Professional Course Reader, 2010
 http://www.math.com/  (accessed 23.11.10)
http://www.everythingbio.com/ (accessed 29.11.10)
http://humanresources.about.com/ (accessed 23.11.10)
http://www.drkaren.us/ (accessed 29.11.10)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectivism_(learning_theory) (accessed 23.11.10)