The evolution of social networks

Alot of social networking tools, like Twitter, are usually developed as a further evolution in an ecosphere of communication technology. Emails, text messaging, twittering, status updates, blogrolls, followers, following, etc. These are all nifty little "linking" or "networking" technologies that always seem to be doing 2 things:

1) Enhancing the ability to network and communicate: Each new invention, "status update" or "SMS blogging" or microblogging, allows faster and more instantaneous communication.

2) Adding greater degrees of complexity to social communication. As the new techniques pile up, some catch on like wildfire. This literally adds layers upon layers to a virtual ecosphere. Over time, complexity and the rate of that complexity increases.

This exponential growth has blurred the lines between "online" and "offline." Describing the internet as a "geek tool" for "computer programmers" or "techies" is a forgotten association. Nearly everyone's online, and most of us are talking. Chatting goes on, and the internet, mobile phones, etc are interconnected, a part of everyday life and interaction.

So following this trend, how can we further enhance, evolve interaction with each other? We can add one another to blogrolls, email, leave comments, etc. It's almost like planting grass seeds. They'll take root, and develop a loose but connected "patch." The question is, how can networks such as Open Anthropology, or Open Source Sociology make successful, organic and living communities? It starts with basic networking, but I suppose the question I'm putting forward is: what makes a successful network?

Good resource for studying social interaction and the internet: Here Comes Everybody.

PS: The interesting phenomenon of increasing complexity over time raises some more questions, and more possibilities. Like what you say? Well for one thing, this might help us get a clearer understanding about whether or not we can take more evolutionary perspectives on changes in society. Biological evolution also gets more complex as time goes on. As more parallels emerge, what new tools can we use to understand ourselves and the societies we live in? Perhaps this calls for a renewed interest in sociobiology.