WeWillNeverMeet

New tribe of people who promise to never meet each other and keep their relationship purely virtual. If someone you'd like to meet joins this tribe, then you must leave it ...

http://wewillnevermeet.tribe.net

Of course, it won't work. But what could be interesting if it did work? When we think about the dynamics of social systems we tend to think in terms of PositiveFeedback. Things which build up according re-enforcement, and the only question is at what rate who wins competitions when attention and links are in short supply.

But many interesting systems are also built using NegativeFeedback or exclusion where one thing precludes another, or one force counters another. What kinds of dynamics might the we-will-never-meet tribe generate?

It could grow in a kind of stable stripey pattern, including friends and friends-of-friends-of-friends, but not friends-of-friends. It would thus capture the Odd/Even / ExclusiveOr patterns which Perceptrons were never able to.

Or we may see unstable dynamics, ReactionDiffusion-like waves spiral across it, as people join, then drop out as their friends inadvertantly join, only to rejoin again as their friends are forced out by friends-of-friends.

If more social group forming tools had this property, what patterning would they leave behind across the social world?

Another social force which brings negative feedback : MinorityGames

Aside

Interesting Google AdWords on the WeWillNeverMeet tribe :

• Gay Tantra / Ashram West

• Authentic Zen Calligraphy

• Spiritual Resources

• Meditation Courses