For centuries, sages and scholars have been fascinated by groups--by the way they form, change over time, dissipate unexpectedly, achieve great goals, and sometimes commit great wrongs. The tendency to join with others in groups is perhaps the most important single characteristic of humans, and these groups leave an indelible imprint on their members and on society. To understand people, we must understand their groups.-

Group Dynamics Resource Page Donelson R. Forsyth, University of Richmond

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Is there an optimal number for a group?

As Kathy McGraw had commented:

Do you remember AR when it was a relatively small group....now it is too large to manage effectively and we never see even 1/100th of all the posts.

Psychology is important. It doesnt matter how good the services supplied are if each individual does not feel that they are an intrinsic part of the group. Bruce Tuckman describes 5 stages that most groups go through- Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourning (or Transforming). I think this is fascinating- while we are individually unique and unpredictable, human dynamics follow a certain pattern! And growing pains are to be expected within the group dynamic.

How does this apply to numbers? I think a balance is at least as important to the functioning of a microculture as it is to the individual on, say, twitter, although parallels can be drawn. In a social media microculture based on mutual assistance and support, assuming that the individuals are joining understanding the group's purpose and also understanding that there will likely be an attrition rate of more than 30%, is there an optimal number? Too few individuals, and the amount of knowledge that can be shared is finite. Too many and, as Kathy points out, access to that knowledge and support is difficult or impossible, and I would guess, smaller subcultures form within the larger microculture.

So, do you put a cap on numbers? Do you make membership at some point dependent upon more stringent standards, so that the individuals do not merely self-select- they actually have to prove their worth to the group.

The answer to the numbers game is probably something like trying to buy at the bottom of the market- you never know the bottom until you are past it. You never know when a group is unwieldy until members start becoming dissatisfied.

Since Kathy's comment was directed specifically at our group I will address that, Right now I would say TwitterQueens is small enough to feel cozy. I think the numbers need to increase for the organization to be viable- a tweetup is more fun when more than the same three people show up, I think. I like to see sparks fly, and find out what new people order to drink! We are gaining members every day- membership is free at this point, and the forum (blogposts, comments, events) is fun and informative.

I think we need to be thinking about how to structure access to group information when we hit 1000 members. Part of dealing with this is staying ahead of the need. I do not want the group to be reactive. I want us to be proactive.

I think we need to attract people outside of the Facebook-twitter realm, since they can add to the knowledge base and will be most thirsty for the information that the group can provide. Only 7% or so of people are actively involved on twitter - of the remaining 93%, not all want to use social media to further their business and, well, social life, but many may.

I think the TwiiterQueens formed like this: we were a group of mainly women who sat down together at a virtual table to help each other with business, especially in relation to social media, and just to be friends. I have no problems with this table being bigger, or for the group being so large that we have to split into a lot of little tables- we can mingle. I know that at that point we will not be able to decide on one type of drink for everyone, but we want to make sure the service is good.

But fellowship means no one feels left out.

 

Diane is one of the founders of the social media microculture the Twitterqueens and is hoping that the group is invited on Oprah.