but I think that if the group is filled with truly individual thinkers and can be maintained on that uniqueness, it may be quite the reference group.

That is why I love posting on Steemit. We are all individuals. I've never seen any of you and probably never will, and yet we can network and find deep thinkers and uncover so much more useful information than solo research ever can, even with the data power of the Internet. I suppose we will in time affect each other's way of thinking and eventually form some sort of consensus, more or less, but the more thinkers arrive into our little universe, the more it and we will evolve. That's a wonderful thing!