Another excellent kick-off to a Friday at Shipleys’Godalming office. Shipleys have developed a good community of business people who orbit the Godalming area. The business activities of those who attend often take them to far-flung places but I find the gravitational pull of their monthly meeting almost irresistible. It certainly sets me up for a good day!

Today we were discussing – among other things – ‘The magic number’ in social networking, otherwise known as ‘Dunbar’s Number’. As with many concepts that pass into popular usage, the ‘Magic Number’ is often misunderstood. Is it 150? What constitutes a community – or even digital ‘friend’ relationship? 

Robin Dunbar’s article on the RSA website is a good place to start. The best real-world and readable critique of it that I have come across is that written by my friend Benjamin Ellis, the man behind Redcatco, who’s Dunbar’s Number -Groups, language and social media  post is well worth reading.