Associates - part of a living system
Stigmergic information systems are quite different from information systems run from databases. They are living systems. where the active components are people. For these systems to work, people have to take part. They will do this only if it is in their interest to do so.
For people to see it is in their interest, they have to know how the system works. Therein lies the problem, because although stigmergic systems appear to be very simplistic, this apparent simplicity masks a highly complex, hidden infrastructure.
A comparison might be made with a "fairy ring" of toadstools growing in a forest. The toadstools seem to be plants similar to most others. Yet, they are quite different, they are the fruiting bodies of a single, unseen fungus that lives beneath the soil. The circle marks its outer perimeter, from where the fruiting bodies (the toadstools) emerge.
Stigmergic systems are like this. You can see the interfaces, where the system interacts with people, but you cannot see the invisible organization that lies beneath. Just as it is difficult to explain how a fungus evolves to produce its circle of toadstools, it is difficult to explain how a stigmergic system evolves to produce a collaborative association of people to pool information and knowledge.
Explaining the SEO project
I've tried explaining how it works to people in Internet discussion forums. Nobody seems to understand what I'm talking about. The underlying system is too esoteric to be conveyed in easy terms. The only way to get the ideas across is to create a demonstration - a working model.
To do this, I've randomly selected a few people from various Internet discussion forums and created portals for them. By looking at a few of these portals (see the list on the left), you might appreciate how they can combine into a single system that collectively attracts people who want to share information about search engine optimization.These websites equate to the toadstools that emerge from the unseen organization that exists invisibly beneath the soil of a forest floor.
FAQ
Why should a site have one of these portals?
Answer: They have access to many people who are sharing information about search engine optimization. This information is also made available to their visitors - so the portals can serve as attraction features for their sites.
How does the information get into the system?
Answer: Every portal allows people to create agents to convey the information they want to share. A single site wouldn't attract many people who would want to do this. But, with many sites attracting a few each... it's a different story.
How do you know who are the experts and who are not?
Answer: The portals choose from amongst the various agents to pick only the best. This may be difficult for one portal alone, but, with many portals taking part in the selection process, the best will emerge.
Why should people provide information?
Answer: To be recognized as experts.
Will it work?
Answer: I don't know, but next month I shall find out when the system goes live. If you want to find out with me, let me make a portal for you and link your site into the system.
Note To get a free portal allocation: contact Peter Small.
Notice that in each of these portals there is no direct link to any central source. The "Home" link goes back to the home of the site hosting the portal.
The reason for this is that there isn't any centralized control. Each portal stands alone as an independent source: it's as if each hosting site is the center of the system.
This will seem a strange idea if you are used to systems being organized centrally, through a database. But, this is a system based upon the way insects share information. And they don't have centralized controls or use databases... do they?