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