Net-Mapping at Agile Coach Camp, Columbus, Ohio

I’m feeling a bit like a fish on a cocktail party, surrounded by all these agile programmers and agile coaches, knowing that I have brought them some wooden toys and post-its and paper to play with tomorrow. But after getting used to the feeling, I can just recommend to any flounder or herring to attend [...]

Do social networks help farmers detect cattle disease? And what does that have to do with you?

The reason why I love teaching is that the most interesting effects don’t happen in the classroom but afterward, sometimes even years later. One of my first assignments as independent consultant three years ago was to teach an introduction to Social Network Analysis at the International Lifestock Research Institute in Kenya. Yesterday I received an [...]

Net-Mapping for Common Ground: Churches and the LGBT community

One of our participants of the Net-Map certification coures last week mapped out the question: “Who can influence a greater inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the Mennonite church?” For everyone involved that is an emotional issue, no matter what stand you take. And it is one of these issues where it [...]

Muslim Brotherhood: Internal and external networks

When mapping networks we often ask ourself: Is this one actor or more than one. Let’s say you map out the transition in Egypt: Is the Muslim Brotherhood one actor or many? I heard an interesting piece on NPR this morning which makes me say: That depends. If you looked at pre-Arab-Spring Egypt and wanted [...]

Facebook and twitter aren’t the only networks that matter in Arab Spring

It’s amazing to see how widespread internet and cell phone access and web 0.2 tools have forever changed the way that social movements form and operate. I am sure we have only seen the very first glimpse of this and are far from understanding how it works. The term “infectious idea” gives us some guidance [...]

Who is most powerful… and does it matter?

One pattern I have seen evolve in the past policy level Net-Map exercises is that it is not so much about the one most powerful actor but a group of maybe 3-6 very powerful actors who all fill different roles and just like pillars of a house, you can’t remove one and still have a [...]

Net-Map Level 1 Certification Course (Washington, DC)

We offer Net-Map certification courses on 4 levels: Level 1: Net-Map Facilitation Level 2: Net-Map Qualitative and Visual Data Collection and Analysis Level 3: Net-Map Quantitative Data Collection and Analysis Level 4: Net-Map Mastery – Train the Trainer Join us for a 2 day, Level 1 Net-Map class on the 4.-5. of August in Washington [...]

Who wants to learn Net-Map and why?

Paolo Brunello and I discussed who our potential participants for the Net-Map Summer School in Vicenza would be. Why would they want to learn it, what would they want to do with it? I came up with this list: Advocates: What they want to do with Net-Map: These are people who want to change the [...]

What you do and who you are

Have you ever felt that you will never be able to achieve what you want because of the kind of person you are? Have you thought: “I will never be successful because (and now pick at least one) I am a procrastinator.” I am not good at selling my work.” I am shy.” I am [...]

Net-Map class in Italy in June!!! Not July!!!

Sorry, the last post has a confusing mistake: We are planning to hold our Net-Map class in Vicenza, Italy on the 27 and 28 of June. Not July. Sorry for the confusion.