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Scholars, advertisers and political activists see massive online social networks as a representation of social interactions that can be used to study the propagation of ideas, social bond dynamics and viral marketing, among others. But the linked structures of social networks do not reveal actual interactions among people. Scarcity of attention and the daily rhythms of life and work makes people default to interacting with those few that matter and that reciprocate their attention. A study of social interactions within Twitter reveals that the driver of usage is a sparse and hidden network of connections underlying the "declared" set of friends and followers.

"All too frequently, someone makes a comment about how a large number of Facebook Friends must mean a high degree of social capital. Or how we can determine who is closest to who by measuring their email messages. Or that the Dunbar number can explain the average number of Facebook friends. These are just three examples of how people mistakenly assume that 1) any social network that can be boiled down to a graph can be compared and 2) any theory of social networks is transitive to any graph representing connections between people. Such mistaken views result in broad misinterpretations of social networks and social network sites."

"This paper explores key issues people experience managing personal boundaries within and across social technologies. We look in particular at email and online social networks. We offer a theoretical framework for understanding the errors in assumptions about the singularity of identity that are currently inscribed into the sharing models of social technology systems. Through a questionnaire study we examine how people facet their identities and their lives, and how these facets are expressed through use of technology. We found for more mature users family was an extremely important context for sharing online, and that email was still a preferred form of communication for private sharing across facets of life. Single, working men had the highest level of incompatible facets, and a higher level of facet incompatibility was correlated with increased worry about sharing in the context of social networks."

"Those who are seeking social media careers need to remember to remember that social media technologies are secondary to meeting business and customer needs."

"Understanding the ways the social graph changes and influences decision making is something marketers and scientists are frantically trying to figure out. According to a new study out of MIT, people are more likely to start new behaviors when they're recommended by small clusters of people they know well. This may not sound intensely groundbreaking, but it runs counter to the decades-long assumptions social scientists have been making."

Slides for 2010 Pearson survey on social media. "More than 80 percent of college faculty are using social media, with more than half using these tools as part of their teaching, according to a first-of-its-kind survey, "Social Media in Higher Education." The survey was conducted by the Babson Survey Research Group in collaboration with New Marketing Labs and Pearson, a global leader in education, technology and services."

Research on whether online social networks affect social capital

"Altimeter has conducted a research project to find out how companies are connecting social technologies to the overall buying process as well as analyzing how they increase revenues for brands."

Good slideshare on the future of social networks when applied to social reality. Shows both the benefits and the creepy parts. Is there a line at which society will say, "no more?"

One alternative for free class site / social network now that Ning is going all premium. "Spruz allows you to create a free social website to attract others with similar interests, strengthen customer relationships with your business or rally behind a cause. Spruz was officially launched March 2007 by its founders Jay Roberts and David Furman. Spruz is self funded, developed and managed by its founders. "

"Social media strategy doesn't require dozens of corporate subcommittee meetings and a 70-page master plan. In fact, all you really need is one sentence that can keep you on target and on customers' minds."

"'hanging out with people online' is supposed to the be promise and the potential of social media today, not something from days gone by...so what's going wrong here? Have the trolls ruined social media for good?"

article by danah boyd on identity, social networks, and the mixed audience of social network interactions... this page also has an .mp3 audio of danah's discussion of the piece.

The business models of social networks could rely on an ignorance towards privacy from their users, experts say. But recent research indicates normal Facebook users have begun altering their privacy settings to control the information people (and potentially advertisers) can see, which could affect the ability of social networks to make money.

The usage of these technologies in learning processes is not a fad, it is just a normal reflection of the evolutionary development of internet. Our students like YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, ect. and spend much time in these virtual places. The informal learning based on Web 2.0 exists and functions like a "university in shadow" with possibilities of a borderless digital learning environment. So, why don't the educators present the power of social media for learning and better strategies for its utilization?

White paper on the proper way to think about social media for proijects and as part of the enterprise.

Christian Crumlish describes the themes in his book, "the Power of Many," a 2004 look at social web topics. Of particular interest are his thoughts on the use of the Web and social media in the Dean Campaign of 2004.

A month-long poll conducted on business social network LinkedIn has uncovered some fascinating numbers concerning social media platforms and brand presence.

"This is the Social Media Research done by Universal Mccann including 17,000 people in 29 countries."

Nice essay on online culture - how online social networks are "places"