The Hive is the New Network: How to Read a Book and Build a Smarter Hive

The Hive is the New Network: How to Read a Book and Build a Smarter Hive

In today's digital age, building a network is no longer enough. To truly thrive and succeed, we must build a hive, a collective community that acts as a hivemind. This concept is evident in the statistics on Instagram, where 50% of posts are generated by less than 3% of accounts. It's not just about being connected; it's about having an opinion and taking action.

The cautionary tale of Myspace serves as a reminder that growth in the network doesn't necessarily equate to growth in business value. A network must be instrumental, actively facilitating communication and transactions. The hive, on the other hand, is a smarter and evolved network that is greater than the sum of its parts.

The hive increases the frequency of interactions between its members, creating more touch-points and opportunities for learning and informed decision-making. It also decreases friction, allowing for stronger ties and collective action. This concept is becoming central to the way we think, behave, and interact.

Tools like Google Apps for Work, Slack, and Github are leading us towards becoming more like ant clusters. These tools increase the frequency of interaction within an organization, aligning everyone around shared goals. By fostering more interaction between workers and tools, businesses can transform from solid to fluid entities that adapt to the needs of the hive.

Just like a swarm of bees on the move resembles the movement of neurons in the human brain, the hive operates through low-level communication and rapid, collective decision-making. It's not about a centralized intelligence; it's about reducing friction and evaluating a variety of inputs quickly and intelligently. The fate of a hive is decided by a small percentage of scout bees, demonstrating the power of collective decision-making.

WeChat, a popular messaging app, has evolved into a hive by focusing on reducing friction and providing infrastructure for its users. It's not the launch of any one feature that drove its growth, but rather the ease it brought to everyday activities for individuals. The hive isn't created by new functionality alone; it's about creating new economic opportunities.

Facebook and Snap Inc. are also converging towards the hive concept by building a family of brands that create real, shared experiences. They are moving away from simply connecting people and focusing on delivering better, more immediate experiences. The hive is what allows us to collectively solve seemingly impossible problems.

The hive concept is also applicable to reading and learning. Mortimer Adler's book, "How to Read a Book," provides valuable insights on how to approach reading for understanding rather than just for information. Adler suggests that anything easily digested is reading for information, which may lead to parroting opinions without truly understanding the subject.

Adler introduces four levels of reading: elementary, inspectional, analytical, and syntopical. Inspectional reading allows us to evaluate the merits of a deeper reading experience, while analytical reading involves thorough reading and engaging with the author through marginalia. Syntopical reading, on the other hand, involves reading multiple books on the same subject to develop a deep fluency.

Reading is a process of asking the right questions and seeking answers. Adler suggests four main questions to ask of every book: What is this book about? What is being said in detail, and how? Is this book true in whole or in part? And what of it? By actively engaging with the text and seeking answers to these questions, we can truly understand and learn from our reading.

To build a smarter hive and become a more effective reader, here are three actionable pieces of advice:

• 1. Embrace the hive mentality: Seek opportunities to increase the frequency of interactions within your network or organization. Use tools that foster collaboration and communication, allowing for collective decision-making and action.

• 2. Reduce friction: Look for ways to decrease friction and increase synchronicity between members of your hive. This can be achieved through clear communication, aligning around shared goals, and utilizing technology that streamlines processes and workflows.

• 3. Engage with the author: When reading, don't simply consume information passively. Use marginalia or other methods to converse with the author and actively engage with the text. This will deepen your understanding and allow for a more meaningful reading experience.

In conclusion, the hive is the new network. Building a hive, whether in business or in reading, allows for greater collaboration, collective decision-making, and shared experiences. By embracing the hive mentality and actively engaging with others and with texts, we can create smarter hives that lead to success and growth. So, start building your hive today and reap the benefits of collective intelligence.