Transcript

It takes a network : Lamia BenHiba at TEDxENSEM

in 29 kiny frus Kimi who was a Hungarian author actually published a collection of short stories that he called Everything Is different one of these stories was named chains and it revolved around the following idea he offered a bet that we could name any person among Earth's 1 and A2 million inhabitants and to at most five acenes one of which he knew personally he could link to the chosen one so the idea is actually about how with a chain of five acquaintances you get to connect to anyone on this planet and um it actually has been a very profound thought and it gave way to a theory that would be called later the um that we be called later the Six Degrees of Separation so the Six Degrees of Separation has been uh popularized by a play Under the same name and um it's boils down to this I am bound to everyone on this planet um through AA trail of six people so this might be a little bit improbable right but um decades later milligram who is a social psychologist has actually proved that there is 5.5 degrees between you and anyone on this planet now what is fascinating about this is two things the first is that the words is even smaller than we thought um it's getting actually smaller and smaller with the Advent of social networks of mobile technologies and um uh a research by Facebook lately has showed that in 2011 the degree of separation has been a 4.74 which means you are only four people away from anyone on this planet whether it's a big name or an Eskimo or a native in a rainforest they're only four people away which is huge the second idea is that you actually are embedded in networks of All Sorts with whether it's your family or friends whether it's at school or in the office we form a social network right now by being all here so what we really need to know is that these social networks actually shape us to some extent so in order to understand ourself we really need to understand how these networks work and where we are positioned within the network now um how we are positioned means that we should should know consciously where we are located within the network and I say consciously because we are all part of a network whether we are aware of it or not and the difference is that we is this awareness that we are conscious that we are part of the network so this location actually uh help us determine what role you play Within the network and a lot of studies showed that um there are different roles that one can play there is um these are some of the most common roles there are isolates who are people a little bit outside of the group they are on the edge and then there is there are hubs hubs are actually the exact opposite there are people who everyone want to connect to they are very Central within the network and then there is a very interesting role one that is called Brokers or network Weavers uh if you see the example here here you have two groups one red and one blue at the network in the bottom so if you take that node that is in the middle the red one and you take it away from the network then you will end up with two chunks of disconnected parts so this broker is the only person who actually helps tie together two groups that are otherwise disconnected and this is a very interesting um position one can be in and to my sense and this is my opinion if you really see um Network Weavers are actually the best network players out there and we should all strive to be one and this is for three reasons the first one comes with the words of Rene fto who says that shock comes when different things meet it is the interface that is interesting Now new ideas actually come from a combinatory process that remixes ideas from different background and creates novel ideas the more exposure you have to different ideas the more Innovative you are the more creative you are so when Brokers actually play that role of interface between groups they are more exposed to different ideas so the first reason is Network Weavers or Brokers are really very creative people in general the second reason is that the the fact that they are part of all these groups and they connect with all these groups they are um they have exposure to different ways of thinking and behaving they actually juggle and appreciate different uh diverent um Alternatives of thinking multiple realities so when they are faced with a problem they actually can get a solution from different plac places they know that this solution is not from within but from the outside and they have the um possible uh connection that they should try to to get to get that solution so they are really great solution Founders or um problem solvers the third reason is that uh social social networks um Weavers are actually great change makers why because they actually have this ability to navigate from one network to another and they can connect people strategically that means that um they know that you are interested in something and they will connect you with the person that has that common interest so they actually have this uh Native uh U intuition to enhance the network by connecting them when there is a potential of um benefit so they are innovators they are creators creative they actually have they are problem solvers and they are change makers who wouldn't want to be one of them so the question is how do you become one how do you become Network Weaver uh so there are few things that you can do the first thing is you have to reach out out of the bubble we actually um lock ourself in some bubbles like our domain of expertise or our studies what we need to do is we need to go for instance to events that are outside our social Norm uh if you are a te like I am you'd want to go to a modern art Exposition or you'd want to um go to a literature um conference the more you go outside that bubble the more exposure to new ideas you have and the more creative you have the second thing that you can do is that you need to fight the comfort of the famar we are creators of habits what we like we have actually we find soless into people who are um who thinks like us who defend the same World Views it is very normal but the real opportunity for growth actually comes from the fact that you are connected to people who think very differently than the way you do so what you need to do is you have to connect with people who are very different from you who challenge you intellectually because this intellectual diversity is what what is a great Catalyst to to um creativity in general and then you really need to embrace New Opportunities because um we all have money we spend on material things but the problem is material things they have a very short lifespan on the other hand experiences they are lifelong companions so the more experiences you have the more enriched will life with be and the more uh you are exposed to new ideas so it is very important to take a chance if you have it to go for example for a multicultural destination or to volunteer in causes that have nothing to do with your studies or expertise the more exposure you have the better it is so um all in all in the economy inter interconnected economy that we are evolving in today it is very important that we know we consciously know that we are part of network we need to become great Network players okay so today is your chance to start so go out there with your network and reach out to people and do not forget that you have to have fun all the way around because each person is a new door opening opening to new words new and exciting words thank you