[VTR] The value of a list

[Ted]

The list's value is rather like intertwined insect intellect, a.k.a. "Swarm
Intelligence"

<<What do ants and bees have to do with fixing TRiumph sports cars?  A great
deal, it turns out. Individually, social insects are only minimally
intelligent, and their work together is largely self-organized and
unsupervised. Yet collectively they're capable of finding highly efficient
solutions to difficult problems and can adapt automatically to changing
environments. Over the past 20 years, researchers have developed rigorous
mathematical models to describe this phenomenon, which has been dubbed
"swarm intelligence," and they are now applying them to business. Their
research has already helped several companies and car enthusiasts, alike,
develop more efficient ways to schedule factory equipment, divide tasks
among workers, organize people, and even plot strategy. Emulating the way
ants find the shortest path to a new food supply, for example, has led
Hewlett-Packard teams to develop software programs that can find the most
efficient way to route phone traffic over a telecommunications network.
Southwest Airlines has used a similar model to efficiently route cargo. To
allocate labor, honeybees appear to follow one simple but powerful
rule--they seem to specialize in a particular activity unless they perceive
an important need to perform another function. Using that model,
Northwestern University researchers devised a system for painting trucks
that can automatically adapt to changing conditions. In the future, all LBC
listers will structure their intelligence gathering activities using swarm
intelligence principles. The result will be the ultimate self-organizing
enterprise--one that could adapt quickly and instinctively to fast-changing
markets.>>

If you still want more, see the HBR article @
http://www.antoptima.com/admin/pdfrassegna2/pdf028.pdf

Ted

On Dec 10, 2007 1:13 PM, Joe Laurito <trglory at comcast.net> wrote:

> Dave is right on target. Many years ago there was also a list on this
> server for newsletter editors (don't know if it still exists). It was not
> specific to any club or car type, but it only dealt with items of interest
> to newsletter editors. When our local club gave me the job, I had no idea
> what I was doing so I joined the list. Didn't learn much because there was
> no traffic....wasn't even sure I was subscribed. Finally, I introduced
> myself and asked a question and the help came flooding in from people and
> places I never heard of. In short order, I was pumping out newsletters like
> a pro.  After a while, the list went back to sleep until the next person
> piped up.
>
> That was a lot of years ago but it's just as important to me now. I'm
> starting to act a lot like Andy Rooney and short term memory isn't as good
> as it used to be. Things work much better when the message comes looking for
> me.
>
> Joe Laurito
> Liaison for Central PA Triumph Club
> ------------------------------------
>
> In a message dated Sunday, December 09, 2007 9:36 AM, Dave1massey at cs.com
> writes:
>
> And that's the advantage of a Mojordom list over a forum.  If there is a
> period of inactivity on a forum folks stop logging on.  A list can remain
> dormant for a long time and spring back to life instantly.
>
> Dave Massey
> Liason for St. Louis Triumph Owners Association
> _______________________________________________
>

-- 
T.L.L.
1966 TR4A CTC 73139 LO