Why does information flow in networks? « Connectivism - 1 views
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analysis of the impact of networks on society. Well before Baraba
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analysis of the impact of networks on society
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to understand how people connect
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how information flows through a network
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our position in a network, and the overlap with other networks, influences the type of information and people that we can acces
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While networks have always been the backbone structure of society and knowledge,
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the experience of being part of a network was not fully conscious or even explicit
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What mattered was who you knew and your role in society
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overlooks an important question
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Even the act of connection forming requires explicit activity from a person : “Follow X” or “Accept friend request from X”
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The online formation of networks is more directive than the offline experienc
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the connection seems more real, more intentional
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The daily reality of being connected naturally raises questions about influence of an individual within a network and how information flows within that system
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Klout analyzes influence
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The prevalence of social network tools and the attention now devoted to analyzing the shape and attributes of those networks – and the evaluation of how information flows
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Today, in contrast, our networks are explicit in tools like Facebook, Twitter, email, and LinkedIn.
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Why? Why does information flow as it does? Why does a person decide to share information with her network?
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Networks can be analyzed quantitatively to determine
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I’m interested in the qualitative aspects of information flow
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Why did you decide to post on your friend’s Facebook wall? Why did you decide to retweet a resource? Why did members of your network decide to retweet your comment?
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What are the qualitative aspects of information objects that determine its likelihood of being shared or amplified within a network?
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three elements
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involved in addressing the question of
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“why does information flow” in a network
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1. The individual.
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how did the person get to have many followers?
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He has 12000 followers.
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Let’s look at someone like Alec Couros on Twitter.
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He has posted over 55000 tweets (wow!).
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qualitatively, how does Alec differ from others in his activities on Twitter?
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because he posts more often?
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Because he is talented at engaging with individuals?
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because he replies to more of his followers
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Does he participate in more network sub-clusters
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Maybe he’s just a nicer person
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Clearly, the activities of an individual plays a role in why information flows…
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Context also influences why information spreads
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2. The Context.
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3. The Message.
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This is really the heart of what I’m trying to understand.
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What are the qualitative attributes of a message that influence why it is shared
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Two attributes
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-Relevance
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a tweet about something happening today is more valuable than
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-Resonance
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this is a complex/fuzzy concept
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When someone posts a link or comment on Twitter, and it resonates with me
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fears, interests, beliefs
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the prospect of retweeting is increased.
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simple coding scheme of what types of messages people post on Twitter:
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a) to express agreement b) to express outrage c) humour d) social grooming
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e) self-promote f) raise awareness
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what would you add?
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If we have a coding scheme, we can randomly analyze the posting habits of people on Twitter
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No doubt, the coding process would be better if it was automated
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sentiment analysis is a big area of focus for social media firms
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Not only are media firms interested in who is talking about GM or BP, but what are the emotions behind posts on Twitter/FB?
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Educators are paying attention to social media.
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Getting at the qualitative aspects of why information flows through networks is a more lucrative direction to consider in transitioning social media use for self and network awareness.