Learning Log - Week #3: Trust is central

"Very related to norms and agreements is building relationship and trust in a group. Sometimes this is hard. There is a tension caused by a lack of time. When people are busy, they are less inclined to spend time building relationships, and developing trust with others in a network. Yet trust is central for sharing work products and building knowledge together.

Research into online groups has surfaced what is probably obvious to us. Trust is important. What is interesting is that for many trust is often given quickly online, but if it is broken, it is withdrawn faster and often more permanently then offline. In other words, we become less forgiving. So the importance of trust is high."