good thinking lad, this one is going to run and run and quite a lot of fun to be had too, I bet :P

I wonder what you think about the new roles that are going to have to be developed in order to aggregate and filter all the social media generating valuable information which companies previously had to invest in employees to gain?

https://blogs.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/02/its_all_about_the_connections...

I like this and think it slots right into the "Gift economy" notion but adds to it with the viral nature of it all - "any friend of yous is a friend of mine" type stuff. Rheingold is good on this in "Virtual Communities" (Gift economy) and "Smart Mobs" for the networking/social media stuff but I'm still a tad disappointed that we've got to get rid of the two body coffin (supposedly invented by Joey Bananas). I think (and this is influenced by trying to explain SNS to students who use Facebook but are not sure why) I still need to understand what we're actually doing with it all. I suppose I'm one of those terrible pragmatists who can enjoy FB and blogging and twittering and all the other stuff but can't see any practical purpose beyond doing it.

Does this make you the blogfather?

It is actually a very good analogy. Some communities feel very much like a "family" ... there is a lot of self-regulation and self-organising. There are many unwritten codes. But in some ways it can also be hard to "break in".

Agree absolutely re your hypothesis, its well recorded in several socio-biological studies of how groups work. Sad thing is, to join your Mafia I have to join the Facebook mafia too :(

Excellent post Chris and an intruiging initiative!

I think you're right, there are a lot of parallels between the social media space and La Cosa Nostra, particularly in the trading of favours, and how being a "made guy" (i.e. a well connected social media player) seems to open doors that would otherwise be closed.

But it begs the question, if this is a mafia, who's the boss? ;o)

Such a cool idea! In this corrupt, capitalist, materialistic world, to make genuine contacts would be wicked. Money is nice but genuine relationships are better. If everyone helped each other out for the love of what they are doing instead of the profit they make at the end of it the world would be a happier place. Hats off to the Ideas man!!!!!

I think that this is truly the most progressive idea I've heard in years...excellent idea, and I'm very excited about it. You're way ahead of your time sir.

So you think it’s not about the money, eh?

So you think the average Family Boss is benevolent enough to return every favor proffered simply based on some code of honor?

Make no mistake, Mafia Management is bottom line oriented and operates on the basic tenets of fear, protection and favors—for money.

The Black Hand, as The Mafia was originally known in America, was formed by downtrodden Italian immigrants with a representation vacuum. A system ported from the old country where getting things done was all about who ya know, and favors were dished out to those who had something to offer in return.

If the Mafia does you a favor, you can bet your ass one day, they WILL knock on your door for that return favor, often a piece of dirty work that renders the doer disposable.

So what we should be asking ourselves is, how do we export the best practices of the Mafia Mentality while shedding the negative motivation that greases the wheels of the current system?

Otherwise, Don Hambly, you’ll be looking over your shoulder from this day forward because anybody who knows the Mafia knows that once you’re in, there’s only one way out.

Donny “Blue Eyes” Lafferty
Philly