There is a distinct “tipping point” in social networking, where one moment you have a vast set of individuals or tiny subgroups, then with a slight increase in the general connectivity of the subgroups, suddenly all the subgroups coalesce into one “giant component”. We have seen numerous graphical representations of this effect in market research, and it’s amazing — one minute a mass of dots, then suddenly one giant connected blob. Good design can bring these subgroups together to coalesce into one large group.