Twitter is creating an unprecedented conversation frenzy. I am a fan. I have found several people with brilliant things to say. It give me hope in humanity that there are so many smart people out there.

Despite the widening of my community brain trust, I’ve noticed a trend, which if not recognized, could lead to negative results. It’s based on the principle of Liking, Similarity, and Selection Bias.

Similarity and Liking describe the propensity of human beings to gravitate towards those who are most like them. Similarity creates the tendency for us to be attracted to people who share similar traits. We have a natural tendency to surround ourselves with people who dress, look, and think the same way we do.

But, this introduces a new situation. What happens to the people we don’t like? What happens to the people who are ‘un-similiar’ to our views?

Here’s what happens on Twitter – Click ‘Unfollow.’

Don’t like what someone is saying?

Simple. “Click!” No tweets for you.

The existence of the Unfollow functionality is a prerequisite for the success of the Twitter platform. I need some mechanism to disengage from people who are spamming, abusing my time, or otherwise not contributing to my brain trust. But how far can this go?

If an opinion is presented in an acerbic manner, what then? Should I discount the opinion because the person suffers from a communication deficiancy? Do they deserve an Unfollow? Does someone who can’t make a point in less that 140 characters need to be silenced by a mouse click?

The threat of exclusion over time leads to a decline in decision making. When a debate or idea is presented to the group, only the people with similar mindsets are listening. So when you decide that you are moving to South America, there are no dissident opinions.

I hope no one is planning a move to another continent, but there are subtler implications. When you ask your Twitter flock for information, you run into a selection bias (also called confirmation bias). The feedback you receive will coincide with the goal you are seeking. When all you have is a group of like minded individuals, everything becomes an excercise in reinforcement.

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Twitterer 1: “Is that a bunch of giants or windmills on the horizon?”

Twitter flock: “Giants.”

Twiiter flock: “I wouln’t call it a giant, but it’s not a windmill.

Twitter flock: “Definitely giants.”

Twitter flock: “I just took a sip of my drink.”

Twitter flock: “I would say that it’s threatening large beings, not exactly giants”

Twitter flock: “I just took another sip…”

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Suddenly, you’ve convinced yourself giants are on the horizon because there is no one around to question the premise. You’ve unfollowed them all.

It’s the exclusion from conversations that poses a threat. If people have a tendency for similarity and liking, how long until their decision making is flawed?

Will there be a long term trend to have a group of people who, after an honest but flawed use of unfollow, have limited themselves to unoriginal thinking?

I hope not.

Excuse me for now. I need to check with Twitter to see if I should drink this Kool-Aid….

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Note: I only discussed the use of ‘unfollow’ above. In only a slightly more complicated situation, the use of ‘block’ could also be used to effectively limit your flock.

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Sources and further reading:

“Why People believe Weird things,” Michael Shermer

“Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, ” Robert Cialdini

“Decision Traps,” J. Edward Russo and Paul Schoemaker