Dunbar’s Number

An anthropologist called Robin Dunbar studied the way human beings maintain relationships with one another. His findings were fascinating. He found that the human brain has the capacity to maintain around 150 meaningful contacts at any given time. Within that group, most people tend to have five loved ones, 15 really good friends and around 50 people they consider to be friends.

This got us thinking about how people work. Some analysis of social and organisational structures revealed a pattern similarities across many team structures. For example, the tech industry likes to form agile teams of five to six people for optimal productivity. The army groups soldiers into sections of around 7 to 12 people.

Humans work well in small, tight-knit groups. This is why Knock users are (currently) limited to six contacts. They invite only their most valuable contacts. The scarcity of places makes it all the more desirable to be part of. Imagine the gossip triggered when somebody does or does not make it into a friend’s ‘Knock Six’. Multiply that by six, wait for the new wave of users, and then multiply their accounts by the same.

Here’s the equivalent of the above , designed and developed for Mac:

That’s the social side at least, but Knock also works in B2B situations. Close Brothers had us over to discuss using the platform in the bank. We’re consulting at the BBC right now and they are keen to find a more efficient way to spend license payers’ money. Eight companies are chomping at the bit for Knock. It’s all very exciting, but we need some money to make this happen.

Over and out.

R.