HICSS Socialware - Cathy Dwyer1 Social networking site for the general public Cathy Dwyer Pace University [email protected]

HICSS Socialware - Cathy Dwyer 1

Social networking site for the general public

Cathy DwyerPace [email protected]


Outline

Definition and description of key features

How do people use these sites? What value do they obtain from using them?

What is the business model for these sites?


How popular are these sites?

MySpace – 130 million members (#2 US)

Facebook – 12 million members (#10 US)

Hi5 – 50 million members(#33 global)

Xanga – 40 million members(#50 global)

CyWorld – 15 million members(25% of South Koreans are members)

WikiPedia List of Social Networking SitesAlexa Global Top 500

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites

http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_sites?ts_mode=global&lang=none

http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_sites?ts_mode=global&lang=none


Definition of a social networking site

A social networking site is a web based application that supports social interaction and the development of new relationships

Usually free subscription Members create profiles to introduce themselves

to others and describe their interests Members can “friend” others, creating visual

signal of relationship Features synchronous and a-synchronous

communication Facilitates sharing of content (music, videos,

pictures)


Profiles - MySpace

Profile identifies you to other members

Profiles enable, communication, provide a way for you to update friends on your activities

Private profiles can only be viewed by “friends”


Facebook profile


CyWorld profile


Facebook Friends

•“friending”

•Send invitation

•If other person accepts, you are added to their social network and they are added to yours

•friends have access to their profile


Communication – private messages


Communication

public comments (also called testimonials)

Posting to “the wall” (Facebook)

Visible to anyone viewing a profile


Online survey: comparison of Facebook and MySpace members

Researchmethod: Online survey

Period: 8/1 – 9/15/06 Universe: MySpace and Facebook

members (survey customized for both sites)

Sample type: Ad-hoc sample Recruitment: post notices in both sites,

iTunes download for completing survey

Analyzableresponses: 117

(69 Facebook, 48 MySpace)


Basic demographics

69 Facebook members completed the survey 29 male and 40 female average age 20.36

48 MySpace members completed the survey 29 males and 19 females average age 22.93


Ethnicity

Facebook (%)

MySpace

Asian 15.94 12.50

Black or African American 17.39 6.25

Hispanic 17.39 12.50

Mixed race 7.25 6.25

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 1.45 4.17

White 28.99 56.25

Other, please specify 8.70 2.08

No response 2.90 0.00


Frequency of Use

Facebook MySpace

How often do you visit [SNS]? (%)

Every day 55.1 60.4

Several times a week 24.6 22.9

Once a week 5.8 8.3

Once in a while 10.1 6.3


Are you an active user of other social networking sites? (%)

Yes 40.58 45.83

No 59.42 54.17


Q 49: How often do you update your profile on [SNS]? (%)

Every day 0.00 4.17


Once a week 4.35 12.50


Never 1.45 2.08


Question 51: How often do you post comments to a friend’s profile? (%)

Every day 8.70 18.75


Once a week 17.39 16.67


Never 2.90 0.00



Size of Social networks (median = 200)Number of Friends on Social Networking Sites

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37 41 45 49 53 57 61 65 69 73 77 81 85 89 93 97 101 105 109 113

Respondents

only about 20% of respondents reported 50 or fewer friends

25% reported at least 300 friends (top value was 2255)


~ 50 % prefer SNS over e-mailPrefer SNS over e-mail

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

(%)

SD to SA


Prefer SNS over Instant Messenger

Prefer SNS to Instant Messenger

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

(%)

SD to SA


Have you ever contacted friends after meeting them by using [social networking site] through the following (check all that apply):

Facebook

Y N

MySpace

Y NP value

Telephone 0.0% 100.0% 0.0% 100.0%

Met face to face 27.5% 72.5% 54.2% 45.8% .004**

Instant messenger

34.8% 65.2% 60.4% 39.6% .006**

Email

18.8% 81.2% 33.3% 66.7% 0.074

Did not communicate outside of [social networking site]

40.6% 59.4% 20.8% 79.2% .025*

Do members develop relationships that extend beyond SNS?


Trust in profiles (.005**)Facebook mean = 4.29, MySpace = 5.13

I believe most of the profiles on [SNS] are exaggerated to make the person look more appealing.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

SD - SA

(%) Facebook

MySpace


Privacy (.033*)Facebook mean = 3.88, MySpace = 3.29

I feel that the privacy of my personal information is protected by [SNS]

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

SD - SA

(%) Facebook

MySpace


Count

I would not like other people on Facebook to know how often I view their profile.

Mean = 4.571=SD 7=SA

Total

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 = SD

I would like to know who has

viewed my profile on

Facebook.Mean = 5.43

7 = SA

1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3

2 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 5

3 2 1 1 2 2 3 0 11

4 0 0 2 0 1 3 4 10

5 1 4 3 2 4 4 2 20

6 0 4 5 5 4 4 2 24

7 3 3 6 9 4 6 12 43

Total 8 12 17 18 15 22 24 116

42/116 = ~36%

More than a third would like to know who has looked at their profile, but not allow others to know what profiles they have viewed


What do you like the most?

“Its like having an online address book that automatically updates itself”

“Having access to contact information for friends, as well as having a glimpse of what is happening with other people's lives”

“Ease, automation, centralization” “It is an evolving way of organizing and keeping in

touch with friends and other acquaintances whom may be out of reach otherwise”

“No stigma of going out single, meet people who don’t like bars/clubs”

“The opportunity to network and communicate with millions of people almost anywhere in the world”


What is your greatest concern?

“Unfortunately, I was stalked once through the facebook. He was a younger man who attended one of my classes. Though I never met him face to face, he used the information such as my AIM screenname and my blog on the facebook to constantly contact me”

“Employers gaining access to information/pictures that are irrelevant to someone's job performance but still used against them”

“That I won't be paying attention and do something stupid”

“Parents and teachers checking on my profile” “Someone who becomes obsessed with you to the

point where they follow your every move”


Business model

Highly desired demographic audience for marketers

Advertising – Google Ad Sense Membership upgrades (CyWorld) Promotion of entertainers

(musicians, Borat on MySpace) Unknown – social data mining?


Web traffic (past 12 months)MySpace vs. Facebook vs. CNN


Facebook vs. MySpace vs. CNN


How are social networking sites using data?

Architecture allows real time capture of all interactions within a digital space

Preferences on books, music, movies is posted on profiles

Huge data set creates closed universe for data analysis


Marketers want data

Product interest by region Product interest by gender From Facebook privacy policy:

“We may provide information to service providers to help us bring you the services we offer.”

From Facebook privacy policy: “Facebook may also collect information about you from other sources, such as newspapers, blogs, instant messaging services, and other users of the Facebook service through the operation of the service (e.g., photo tags) in order to provide you with more useful information and a more personalized experience.”


Summary

Overview of basic features of social networking site

Popular activity combining multimedia with easy communication channels

Evidence of conflicted attitudes Business model based on social

data mining may undercut trust

Documents

HICSS Socialware - Cathy Dwyer1 Social networking site for the general public Cathy Dwyer Pace University [email protected]