The complication of crowds

Having taken a year off from social media, I'm finding that coming back requires discipline.

I'm rebuilding my network from the ground up, and want it to work for those I'm connected to as much as for me. If I don't make time to follow them, or respond to their posts, we're wasting a relationship.

I've never been a fan of big crowds or parties, and the most noticeable thing for me in reconnecting has been the flood of unwanted information and intrusion. I'm sure the algorithm is very effective at finding people for advertisers they want to target, but rather less so at working the other way round. I know it's how the business model works, and I value the opportunity the platform offers. It would just be good to be able to go to another room when these noisy people arrive.

So, I've decided to follow three guidelines:

1. To observe Jim Rohn's rule (supported by recent finding in neuroscience) that we become the average of the five people we most associate with.

2. To note Robin Dunbar's work regar…