There are a variety of interestingly novel tribe types. One of the strongest bonds seems to be in Consumer Communities (Consumities) - groups of people with common purchasing patterns. Did you have an Atari 2600? Did you have neon shoelaces on your roller skates in the early 80’s? Are you a boat person? These communities are inherently dynamic as anyone can buy their way in, even if you can’t establish legitimacy as an insider. In the nineteenth century Hegel talked about the importance of property to the development of identity, and in our post-industrial world his words ring quite true. There are also Communities of Interest (Thought Friends). So, rather than united by a purchase, you are united in a belief or a fascination in some subject. Christian groups. Sports opinion radio. Flame wars. Of course, these two types often overlap as interests involve purchasing decisions. Unfortunately we still have our physical tribal distinctions as well. Tall and short. Skin color. Gender. Where you live. As consumptive and intellectual communities become more accessible and distributed, I wonder whether those in more culturally isolated positions become more invested in the importance of their physical identity. There is no reason of course that this would have to be limited to a particular social position. The shifting lines of commerce and thought can be scary to anyone who wants to fit in.

Understanding tribal behavior and the potential consequences of the new forms of grouping that are increasingly common is a huge topic this site will return to on many occasions. Are you into it? If so, there is a special category link for people like you.

To rectify this it would be nice to have something which would be a kind of lowest sensible relevance filter. So, show me something which is related to what I am looking for through on page grammatical/semantic analysis, but from a linking standpoint is a relative orphan. It would also be cool to have meta data being collected from users about whether they agree or disagree with what they are reading, so that I can eventually read news that people agree is decent versus news they might classify as bogus (cough fox, cough), or vice versa.