The grapevine is not only a middle school or high school issue, the grapevine is in every communicational opportunity. The grapevine is informal channels of communication. I never new during the Civil War, telegraph lines were wired through trees making it look like a bunch of grapevines intertwined. Eventually the term developed into any type of channel of communication which does not follow the straight line predictable pattern. The grapevine thrives because individuals are not satisfied with formal lines of communication and sometimes you need a break from formal patterns.
What is interesting is that the grapevine communication operates on a face-to-face (usually) basis and allows for immediate feedback and clarification that other channels of communication do not always allow. If someone loves to be in control one will not love the grapevine because once it takes off, the grapevine is not easy to control. It is estimated that the accuracy of the grapevine is from 75% to 95%. I was completely amazed on how accurate the informal channel could be so accurate. I assumed the grapevine could only bring rumors and unnecessary gossip, but it turns out it has some positives in the work place and in our personal lives as well.
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