I started thinking about portals after the birth of my first child. My wife and I would alternate time at work with time with Ally, and over time we sought sources of entertainment beyond videos and parental imagination. We discovered portals into groups of parents just like us, looking for adult conversation with fun, safe activities with playmates for our kids. These gateways included story hours at the local bookstore (who knew?), "Mommy and Me" hours at a community center gym that was filled with donated toys, and play centers where (for a fee) the staff would arrange for different activities each week. We made friends with working parents going through the same struggles that we faced. What I found fascinating is that these parental hotspots weren't new, I was. I never noticed them before. Owning a dog for the first time provides another example of portals. I never knew there were parks set aside for dogs and their owners. Now, I realize that owners frequent these parks daily, and they often know each other by their dogs' names. One morning my dog was greeted with "Hey, Rocco! How are you boy?" quickly followed by a question for me, "Is it your wife I saw with him yesterday?"
I started thinking that portals to various social networks must be everywhere, hiding in plain sight; however, I have discovered that communities are collapsing across the US. This past December I was in Colangelo's Bakery, one of the few Italian bakeries in Rochester that made Tomato Pie (similar to the bakery pizza strips found all over Rhode Island)...one of my all time favorite foods. I was saddened to hear that they were closing down the shop and hoping to recreate their business online through orders and catering. I started wondering where you find the portal for young, Italian Americans who grew up with ethnic foods and traditions that are now dying out, as Italian neighborhoods disappear and first generation Americans are no longer with us. I then picked up the 2000 book Bowling Alone (by Robert D. Putnam) and learned that I stumbled on to a trend that goes beyond just Italian-American traditions. Both formal and informal types of social connections—Rotary Clubs, VFW posts, neighborhood barbeques, and yes, bowling leagues—are all becoming less a part of America than they were for the WWII generation. And it’s not just my local bakery that suffers. In fact, Putnam persuasively argues that when there is less communal interconnection, we ALL suffer because we lose out on “social capital.”
How?
Check out the Social Capital Primer on Harvard’s Saguaro Seminar website:
The central premise of social capital is that social networks have value. Social capital refers to the collective value of all "social networks" [who people know] and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other ["norms of reciprocity"].
How does social capital work?
The term social capital emphasizes not just warm and cuddly feelings, but a wide variety of quite specific benefits that flow from the trust, reciprocity, information, and cooperation associated with social networks. Social capital creates value for the people who are connected and - at least sometimes - for bystanders as well.
Social capital works through multiple channels:
- Information flows (e.g. learning about jobs, learning about candidates running for office, exchanging ideas at college, etc.) depend on social capital.
- Norms of reciprocity (mutual aid) rely on social networks. Bonding networks that connect folks who are similar sustain particularized (in-group) reciprocity. Bridging networks that connect individuals who are diverse sustain generalized reciprocity.
- Collective action depends upon social networks (e.g., the role that the black church played in the Civil Rights movement) although collective action also can foster new networks.
- Broader identities and solidarity are encouraged by social networks that help translate an "I" mentality into a "we" mentality.
What are some examples of social capital?
When a group of neighbors informally keep an eye on one another's homes, that's social capital in action. When a tightly knit community of Hassidic Jews trade diamonds without having to test each gem for purity, that's social capital in action. Barn-raising on the frontier was social capital in action, and so too are e-mail exchanges among members of a cancer support group. Social capital can be found in friendship networks, neighborhoods, churches, schools, bridge clubs, civic associations, and even bars. The motto in Cheers "where everybody knows your name" captures one important aspect of social capital.
In the workplace, these behaviors are similar to what OD specialists call employee engagement, specifically the discretionary effort that employees exhibit to make organizations work more effectively and efficiently—quite the opposite of turf wars, bureaucracy, sabotage, and harassment. In the government, these behaviors are similar to the “across the aisle” cooperation that is sorely missing in our political arena full of soundbites and polarizing rhetoric. In the schoolyard, these behaviors are similar to the peace-keeping we see as necessary to prevent bullying, shootings, and suicides. On the highways, these are the communal behaviors that ease tensions in traffic jams and prevent road rage. This is way beyond my Tomato Pie. What can we do?
Where social networks still exist, mostly due to having a set of people in close proximity such as at a workplace, a neighborhood, a church, or a school, it is important to strengthen social bonds. We have to become role models for outreach: stopping by for visits, hosting get-togethers, connecting individuals who would benefit from knowing each other, etc. This may take some effort for some of us, as we have become accustomed to valuing autonomy, privacy, and space rather than interdependence, sharing, and togetherness. As Putnam explains social networks provide a combination of bridging dissimilar individuals and bonding similar individuals. We need both forms of social capital, and where one member promotes these connections successfully, more members will step up and follow suit, providing opportunities for future shared experiences.
Where there are weak or no social networks, it is important to provide a forum for individuals to discover and share their common experiences. Online options, such as Facebook groups or web boards, can be created to draw in individuals who would benefit from connection, but who have yet to connect. These virtual meetings can lead to actual face-to-face meetings, which require a bit more commitment and effort, but provide more potential social capital. In essence communities will form when someone creates a portal for members to find each other.
In order for a group of individuals to feel part of a community, they have to share common experiences. By providing the means for the group to have those experiences and then shaping what those experiences are, one can foster the development of a community, whether the members are employees, neighbors, parents of local school students, or even customers who love tomato pie.
P.S. Those of you in the Rochester area can support Colangelo's Bakery by calling (585) 218-0220. In Rhode Island, my favorite Italian bakery is Palmieri's Bakery... and try their pepper sticks as well as pizza!
This content is protected by the 1976 Copyright Protection Act of the United States of America. The proper citation for this blog is as follows: Mastrangelo, P. M. (date posted). Title of Post. Bump on a Blog, available at http://paulmastrangelo.blogspot.com.
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