In previous blogs, I’ve talked about how different communities are today from the ones in which most of us grew up. Among other things, we are an older, more diverse, and more mobile population. Something else has changed in America.
In his book, Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam documents the decline in what he calls "social capital." Social capital refers to the social networks and organizations that build relationships and trust among people. Examples of traditional organizations that have nurtured social capital include church groups, PTAs, fraternal organizations, service clubs, and labor unions.
For reasons we have not been able to explain, social capital in America has declined steadily since the turn of the 20th century. One well-documented consequence of lower social capital is declining civic engagement. Why does civic engagement matter? Researchers in global democracy have discovered that people who are civically engaged create communities that are more economically vibrant than those where people are more reliant on the state. By principle then, it appears that a community with a higher level of social capital prospers more than it would otherwise. All other things equal, the communities with the highest social capital win.
There are signs that the decline in social capital may be reversing course. With social networking systems such as Facebook and Twitter becoming more mainstream, people are beginning to connect and converse in ways they didn’t five to ten years ago.
In an interesting article published today, FastCompany magazine asks whether or not the number of Facebook fans a candidate has can predict the outcome of an election. Here are some interesting numbers from their article:
In Florida, Charlie Crist has 101,127 fewer Facebook fans than his Republican rival Mark Rubio. Kentucky congressional contender Jack Conway has 74,285 fewer fans than Republican Rand Paul. In California congressional challenger Carly Fiorina has half as many fans as Democratic incumbent Rep. Barbara Boxer.
We’ll know soon enough after the election if there is a correlation between social networking strength and success at the polls. What I take from this now is a growing conviction that all leaders — public and private sector alike — need to plug into the new ways in which people are choosing to socialize.
Marion Anderson, UN Peace Prize and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, was quoted as saying: "Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it." Electronic social networking is a growing, important mechanism for leaders to find out what’s in the hearts and minds of those they hope to influence.
Marion Anderson, UN Peace Prize and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, was quoted as saying: "Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it." Electronic social networking is a growing, important mechanism for leaders to find out what’s in the hearts and minds of those they hope to influence.
