Tags:
This is the kind of app you only have time to write in college, but it is fun :-) After a few attempts to find an actor he isn't connected to I gave up.
I liked your comment in the 1% Rule of Social Networks thread comparing social networks to parties. Amusingly, I think high school social dynamics are also very similar. The clumping (cliques), super-networkers, lurkers, etc. can be observed everywhere from dances to the cafeteria. Social networks allow us all to act like we are still in high school :-) I recently read a
LOL, yeah, I only tossed in mention of this mostly for entertainment value. But is still is a very interesting example of a hub nodes.And, as an example of small world networks, just try the University of Virginia's Oracle of Bacon. Perhaps Hollywood's hardest working actor, Kevin Bacon is linked to a very surprising amount of other actors and actresses.This is the kind of app you only have time to write in college, but it is fun :-) After a few attempts to find an actor he isn't connected to I gave up.
What, like Ferris Beuller? You know, he's another example of a hub node!What are your thoughts on the dynamics of the social web?I liked your comment in the 1% Rule of Social Networks thread comparing social networks to parties. Amusingly, I think high school social dynamics are also very similar. The clumping (cliques), super-networkers, lurkers, etc. can be observed everywhere from dances to the cafeteria. Social networks allow us all to act like we are still in high school :-)
I recently read a Fast Company article on a plane flight talking about the theories of Duncan Watts and how he is challenging Gladwell's accepted super-networker model described in The Tipping Point. I don't know if I agree with him, but its definitely worth a read. I'm not a mathematician, but Duncan's theories run contrary to everything I have observed with social networks in the real world.Excellent reading, Dan. Food for thought, indeed. I would think that in the case for marketing and social networks, simply targetting the Influentials or super networkers cannot be enough. There must be many other factors that describe and predict the behavior of a social group, and perhaps that for an idea to really take root and go viral, there have to be environmental factors, timing if you will, or maybe an already existing predisposition amongst a large portion of the group members, that are at play.
Brooke Fujita: Excellent reading, Dan. Food for thought, indeed. I would think that in the case for marketing and social networks, simply targetting the Influentials or super networkers cannot be enough. There must be many other factors that describe and predict the behavior of a social group, and perhaps that for an idea to really take root and go viral, there have to be environmental factors, timing if you will, or maybe an already existing predisposition amongst a large portion of the group members, that are at play.
There is no question that multiple factors and a confluence of events are required to hit the tipping point for many have-to-have products, but my reading of Watts is that super-networkers have almost no significance. I can't point to the problem with his math because I'm simply not on the level, but his assertions are simply contrary to what I've observed. In highly arbitrary social phenomena such as fashion, where utility is of secondary concern, a few super-networkers absolutely control the masses. I can point to examples ranging from popular kids in high school to fashionistas in New York and Paris.
From the Fast Company Article:
"Watts believes a trend's success depends not on the person who starts it, but on how susceptible the society is overall to the trend--not how persuasive the early adopter is, but whether everyone else is easily persuaded. "If society is ready to embrace a trend, almost anyone can start one--and if it isn't, then almost no one can," Watts concludes."
This strikes me as a common sense and a good explanation for most social phenomenon.
Daniel Leuck said:There is no question that multiple factors and a confluence of events are required to hit the tipping point for many have-to-have products, but my reading of Watts is that super-networkers have almost no significance. I can't point to the problem with his math because I'm simply not on the level, but his assertions are simply contrary to what I've observed. In highly arbitrary social phenomena such as fashion, where utility is of secondary concern, a few super-networkers absolutely control the masses. I can point to examples ranging from popular kids in high school to fashionistas in New York and Paris.
Yeah, I am sure that we all can relate from our own personal experiences and come up at odd with what Watts is claiming. But I am quite sure (just personal conviction, really) that if the group is not ready to hear the message from the Influentials, then nothing will happen. I mean, there were some fashion rags spouting men's skirts for a while a decade ago, and I still don't see any of the hip kids walking around in them.
How does Twitter play into all of this? I see cliques, lurkers, super-networkers, etc. on it. I sort of like the you can link to me but I may not link to you aspect of following and followers in Twitter.
Is that how Twitter works, with directed graphs? That is interesting. I know that LinkedIn allows me to hide my connection list, but I think that that feature is pretty roughl-grained, maybe I-show-you-all,-or-I-show-you-nothing. If a social network has connections (edges) that may be one-way, I wonder how that would affect the interactions in that group?
To be sure, if we take the case of high school cliques, just because I know a cheerleader doesn't automagically make me a part of her inner circle of friends. Heck, that's precisely how it was in high school for me. People only wanted to copy from my homework...
Russel Cheng said:How does Twitter play into all of this? I see cliques, lurkers, super-networkers, etc. on it. I sort of like the you can link to me but I may not link to you aspect of following and followers in Twitter.
© 2025 Created by Daniel Leuck.
Powered by