Building Common Ground.

Thomas Vander Wal writes about how social media tools can be used to build common ground. What I like about the term common ground is that it doesn’t necessarily mean agreement. Too often, I think people assume that social interaction on blogs, wikis, social networks, etc. won’t work unless you’ve got a group of like-minded people that agree with each other.

I think that’s the recipe for a boring echo chamber.

Common ground, however, means that people have a baseline understanding of the purpose of a social venue, and agree on how to interact in a productive way. But they might have profound disagreements about the actual topics.

The beauty of common ground is it sets the stage for issues to be debated and disagreements to be articulated in a way that informs both those directly involved and those observing. This is especially critical for that latter group – the observers – because an interaction that seems caustic, flaming, and distasteful will drive them away, whereas an interaction based on common ground will draw them in to share their viewpoints.

That’s key to building a healthy community people will rely on again and again, and recommend to their networks.