-13% ask/give product recommendations/advice
-67% of people with more than 100 followers ask more questions
*because of familiarity with services? ease of use?
-the more followers you have, the more likely your questions will be answered
-66% of Qs asked have commercial intent
**written before the rise of the SNSs
-social capital can be seen as both social contact and civil engagement (113)
*both of which can and do occur on SNSs
-Putnam argues there is a general decline in American social capital (evidenced by less social activity, less family dinners, etc.) However he is only looking at one specific form of social capital, and the online environment has supplemented if not supplanted some of these areas (Putnam v Fischer debate)
*in the past five years, social networks have sprung up that have strengthened ties in communities, and allowed those separated by geography to remain close
-has urbanity killed the social vibrant pastoral communities of yore? No... just need to change the criteria a bit to account for the numerous ways people communicate nowdays
-with industrialization came the age of the individual (114)
-"community-multiplying nature of the Internet" (117)
-people seek out others with common interests to share ideas
*social capital is strengthened
*need to be careful the social networks are not self-perpetuating, or they can become unhealthy
**before SNSs
-p348. possible uses on Internet to form social bonds
*suppositions answered in many ways by the rise of the SNSs
-p349 results of the HomeNet study showed Internet interrupted social relationships. However, there are a number of arguments against that occurrence
-p377 Internet can both help and hinder people, depending in large part on existing personality characteristics
-p377 People allow online and offline worlds to overlap
*particularly with the rise of the SNSs