Economies in Networking Citizens - Week 4

Lines and definite definitions of the world we once used to know are continually getting harder and harder to differentiate, separate and understand. In recent years, social networks has made an impact in the field of economics, labor markets and technologies. What was a flux in the many industries, the technologies emerged. Along with social networks, they have made their way into many organizational thinking and consideration. The change and freshness they brought in terms of working together coincides well with the core of business practice.

The world has seen a significant shift of the knowledge-based work to the line of service, especially in developed countries. Departments like "marketing" or "advertising" did not exist till the need of higher skilled and specialized workers to meet with the demands of an ever competitive international business environment. With these developments, our connections bind us together in complex interdependencies. This migration can be explained with the modern economic growth theory, which acknowledges the major role that technological process and knowledge contributing to long-term growth.

The thing about service jobs, as compared to knowledge job is difficult to exactly pin-point what is exactly work and to overlook them, especially jobs dealing with creativity and services. The change in work environment and expectations has lead people to believe and want better employment, and options to follow what is of value and of meaning to them. Money isn't the priority, but factors such as job clarity and purpose; a better community/ employee circle in the work place to make friends, and even a further spouse because they spend majority of their time there. A better social community leads to a better networked firm, which also equals to a happy or happier work place.

Employees and employers are also seeking to go further and break the market in such a highly competitive state. It is not uncommon to have different companies working for one major project, or the involvement of customers and businesses. Such collaborations leads to innovations, improvements, better quality of work and synergy between the employers, employees and customers.

The impact of of collaboration and changing workplaces, initially greeted with fear and hesitation becomes no or little issue in the work places today. Employer's allows their employee's to surf the internet even if it's unrelated to work, and employer's are noticing the immense opportunity to reach other to customers and future clients through social networks. The advantages are helping with how the organization works. However, it blurs the old structures and hierarchy's, and how things get things done the traditional way. After a study done by the consultancy firm McKinsey - it says that network relationships and formal hierarchy's are different things, and are not to be put together.

With a new way of organizational works, cost comes to mind. In the beginning, where networking was new and rather expensive, companies had to incur these costs along side the other traditional structures. But as technology improved, these changes impacted organizations. The collaboration of technology and business was started by a group of technological enthusiasts, who formed platforms where customers, develops and designers to come together and designed networking pages.

Many things can affect our networks and their counterparts, such as consumer behavior. What we buy/don't buy affects its seller in another part of the world. With network, it has changed the relationship between employer and employee, created more room and better communication with our colleagues, our clients and our bosses. This has made it easier for us to understand the dynamics of the ecologies of networks, yet shed some light the responsibility, of what we must do - as an individual and as an organization.

Week 4: Economies. In Networked Citizens (pg 25-31) Bradwell, P. and Reeves, R

<http://www.demos.co.uk/files/Network%20citizens%20-%20web.pdf>