Big Man Group

= a non-hierarchical social structure structured by the influence of “big men” actors who gain their influence through success in a relevant endeavor

Description

Jeff Vail sees peer governance as an expression of anthropological big-man groups:

"Conversely, I think the internet--specifically the “blogosphere” (a terrible term, but there you have it)--stands as an example of a “big-man group.” More precisely, it is a network of big-man groups that already occupy a diagonal beyond the exclusive control of the state. Big-man group is another anthropological term that requires defining: a non-hierarchal social structure structured by the influence of “big men” actors who gain their influence through success in a relevant endeavor--growing tubers in Melanesia, popularity in High School social systems, or visitor counts and links in the blogosphere, for example." (http://www.jeffvail.net/2009/03/neo-chiefdoms-or-big-men-networks.html)