Positive Change and Networked Flow: From Creative Individuals to Creative Networks

The history of creativity in the arts, science and technology suggests that most great innovators do not work in isolation, but are part of an intellectual community in which they can share their thoughts and discoveries. In this chapter, we describe a model – “Networked Flow” – of how these creative networks are born and evolve. We first review main theoretical models of «collective» creativity. Next, we present and discuss the six stages model of the Networked Flow process: meeting (persistence); reducing the distance; liminality-parallel action; networked flow; creation of the artifact; application of the artifact in a social network. Finally, we describe social network analysis as an appropriate methodology to investigate Networked Flow in creative collaboration settings.