Reading The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind by Gustave Le Bon

A crowd is like a giant, if its brain cells are well connected, then he is not only bigger and stronger than the smaller man, he is also wiser.

If the giant is motivated by instinct then the most it can do when he has an itchy forearm is to scratch. But a well-connected, self aware and remembering giant may come to realise that his body reacts adversely to certain irritations, find out what caused the rash and avoid it. In a similar way the well-connected group can realise and indorse codes of conduct which define what is desirable and what is unwelcomed so that individuals within the crowd regulate themselves.

That is something I think Le Bon could not have realised because the means to stay connected within a crowd (such as mobile technology) did not exist in 1896. His entire book is available online for free.

"... [a crowd's lasting belief] is usually only to be changed at the cost of violent revolutions. Even revolutions can only avail when the belief has almost entirely lost its sway over men's minds. In that case revolutions serve to finally sweep away what had already been almost cast aside, though the force of habit prevented its complete abandonment. The beginning of a revolution is in reality the end of a belief." (p.150)1

His note that 'force of habit' is a factor in tying groups together, suggests that it alone is not a good enough reason for a group to remain in existence. This highlights the fact that groups inspect their internal workings and ‘self worth’. It also alludes to the fact that a crowds’ bias to survive leads it to search for new justifications for its continuation. Crowds do not want to die and they will fight to survive.

1 Crowd : a study of the popular mind / Gustave Le Bon. / Le Bon, Gustave, 1841-1931. / Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library

My conclusion - the point I want to make

Almost everything we do nowadays generates content, which is recorded and is increasingly available to everyone else.
The increased use of social tools is exposing the true differences and similarities between us. This is creating wide consensuses making us more tolerant to certain things and adverse to others.
Large groups, which I am to prove are equipped with bullshit-meter, can be formidable when an individual is facing them. In order to find acceptance within such a group, one’s best course of action is to be genuine. This is true even before the wish to belong to said group had arisen, when there was no apparent need to be sincere. Our recorded generated content and past interactions serve as our reputation.