Red Tribe Sensemaking
The Red tribe's network evolved its orientation on H-1Bs over the holidays. The effort was a success, however, the dynamics exposed a vulnerability that threatens its future.
The Red Tribe’s leaders aren’t wearing suits in DC. They’re online.
The rapid defeat of last year’s massive pork-laden funding bill is an excellent example of that new power structure. It showed that the Red tribe’s online sensemaking (how the network dynamically evolves its orientation for Boyd fans) is upstream from Washington’s political battles.
Online Sensemaking
The after-Christmas online debate over H-1Bs is an excellent demonstration of online sensemaking. It is also a good reminder that although Elon Musk may be the de facto leader of the online Red tribe, he’s also enmeshed in a dynamic online ecosystem (see the November 2024 report Red Tribe Dynamics for more). Here’s a short recap of the initial phases of the event.
Trump appointed Sriram Krishnan, who is well respected in Silicon Valley, as a senior policy advisor on artificial intelligence.
This appointment triggered a backlash within portions of the Red tribe due to Sriram’s outspoken support for expanding the H-1B program.
In response, Elon Musk expressed unqualified support for Sriram’s appointment and the expansion of the H-1b program, which ignited a firestorm of criticism.
The arc of Elon’s responses between December 26 and 28 provides a helpful framework for understanding how the Red tribe’s networked sensemaking works.
Feedback Ignites. Elon: dismissing it as a minor issue, casual insults.
Feedback Grows. Elon: Belittle and ignore. Frustrated with the feedback he’s getting.
Feedback Overwhelms. Elon: Intense anger and insults. The framing is similar to the moral warfare of the blue tribe (deplorables/racists). Note: This was a mistake.
Feedback Continues to Grow. Elon: Threats. Moral argument for censoring critics (similar to the blue tribe). Note: this was another mistake.
Feedback Drives Adapation. Elon: Compromise, he evolves his digital ledger to accommodate the feedback. The controversy ends.
Now, let’s unpack some of the underlying drivers of this event to see what we can learn from it.