I was told to read this Harvard Business Review analysis of virtual worlds as leadership incubators.

The most interesting difference between online leadership and meatspace leadership is the concept of "temporary leadership" where different individuals will take the help at different times depending on the situation or the need for it.

What I like about the podcasting community is that it's in a state of constant leadership flux. There's no one strong dominant voice, folks tend to work things out horizontally with a bit of networking guidance or assistance from whomever has the time to step in.

I'll admit that the arrival of Adam Curry into SL was a good thing to spark the community of podcasters, but his departure got them to stop kissing his ass and start seeing each other eye-to-eye and collaborating with each other on their own terms better. (And, I swear, I'm ripping the lips off of anybody who tries to kiss my ass. My ass is for shitting and sitting, just like everyone else's.)

I'm trying to remember the principles of successful online social networking, but collaboration, a sense of belonging, and getting constructive feedback (positive or negative) were important ones that stood out in my mind.

From the article, which is far less than the 500 words limit for citation:

One major impediment to group collaboration in business is uncertainty about whether an individual will get credit for contributing useful information, especially digital work that can be easily forwarded or repurposed, after it is passed around the organization. Take the case of someone’s e-mail notes that end up in a widely circulated internal document. A virtual currency system that identified the source of digital information and tagged its subsequent use could ensure that the originator would receive credit—formal acknowledgment or some more tangible reward—when those data were forwarded, reused, or cited. That would create a strong incentive to share.

Of course, it's always easier to assign blame than credit, but who's counting, eh?

I figure give credit where credit's due, keep the lines open for anybody to throw around any crazy-assed idea, and laugh it off when folks properly identify the idea as crazy-assed. (But don't be too shocked when everybody gets caught up in the crazy-tsunami and whips out their surfboards all crazy-like.)

It's interesting to look at the "leaders" of SL... Dolmere and The Sixtyone, Harold The Barrel, Slim Warrior, Barney Boomslang, and so on. Might be interesting to ask folks who they consider to be leaders, why they follow them as a leader, what they get out of such a relationship, how they feel it's doing good for the community, etc.