What+makes+networks+powerful+accelerants+of+social+change?

Two characteristics make networks especially powerful accelerants of social impact: their potential for self-organization and rapid growth.  Self-organization simply means that a few people within a network are able to connect, identify a mutual interest, and go and do something together. This could be an exchange of information, sharing a resource, a small project, or a more ambitious formal collaboration. In the case of Lawrence Community Works (LCW)—a community development network in Lawrence, Massachusetts, there are many different ways residents can get involved. They might attend a neighborhood dinner, take part in a youth program, or receive counseling on purchasing a home—to name a few possibilities. There are multiple doors through which residents might enter the network space, connect with other residents and decide to do something together. LCW doesn’t predetermine programming or an advocacy agenda. The work is framed and led by the residents, and //enabled// by LCW staff and infrastructure. LCW is being intentional about nurturing self-organization.  Rapid growth and diffusion of ideas is another well-know network effect. In recent years, with increased connectivity and information flows, there have been countless examples of ideas ‘going viral’ and rapidly coordinated action on a massive scale. The phenomenon is simple. A few people are connected around an action or an idea. They talk to their friends about it. Their friends tell their friends. And so on. Take, for example, Voices of the Faithful (VTF), a group of laity advocating for reform of the Catholic Church. After sexual abuse scandals had been exposed in a series of articles in the Boston Globe, blogs, websites, and email made it possible for people to quickly spread the word, accurately track incidences of abuse, and connect with one another. In less than one year VOTF grew exponentially from an initial meeting of just 25 people in a church basement in Massachusetts, to a powerful, global online network of more than 25,000 members. 
 * //What makes networks powerful accelerants of social impact? //**