Information Behaviour and Web 2.0 Social NetworksMike ThelwallStatistical Cybermetrics Research Group,University of Wolverhampton, UK

Virtual Knowledge Studio (VKS) Information Studies

ContentsIntroductionExamples of social network sites and ideas for recommending social

network sites to library users / information seekers

Cybermetric case study of MySpaceConclusion

1. Introduction

ContextMySpace, Facebook and similar sites are amongst the most popular web sitesAccording to HitWise, in 2007 MySpace overtook Google in the US

Facebook hasovertaken MySpace

SNS definitionA web site allowing individuals to construct a public or semi-public

profile within a bounded system articulate a list of other users with

whom they share a connection view and traverse their list of

connections and those made by others within the system

boyd, d. m., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship.Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), article 11.

FriendsNot all

friends are friends!

Some are not even acquaintances, family members, colleagues

Why have sns friends? (1/2)

It would be socially inappropriate to say no because you know them Having lots of Friends makes you look popular It’s a way of indicating that you are a fan (of that person, band, product, etc.) Your list of Friends reveals who you areTheir Profile is cool so being Friends makes you look cool

boyd, d. (2006). Friends, Friendsters, and MySpace Top 8: Writing community into being on social network sites.First Monday, 11(2)

Why have sns friends? (2/2)

Collecting Friends lets you see more peopleIt’s the only way to see a private ProfileBeing Friends lets you see someone’s bulletins and their Friends-only blog postsYou want them to see your bulletins, private Profile, private blogYou can use your Friends list to find someone later It’s easier to say yes than no

FriendsFriend news (Facebook)

HistoryAfter a slow start,

many successful SNSs emerged – then other sites began adding SNS services or innovating for niche markets

boyd, d. m., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites:Definition, history, and scholarship.Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), article 11.

Today

Facebook dominant??

Facebook dominant?

Google search volume

2. Examples of social network sites

Three types of social networking site

Socialising SNSs - for recreational social communication between membersNetworking SNSs - for non-social interpersonal communication (e.g. LinkedIn)(Social) navigation SNSs - social network features to help users find information or resources (e.g., YouTube, CiteULike)

Types of SNS

Examples of SNSLinkedInGaia OnlineCyWorldDiggLast.FM

LinkedInSNS designed to help members find new business contactsEspecially helps look for friends of friends or aquaintances of acquaintances

CyworldKorean SNSAvatar-based –users live in their own home in their mini-hompyArguably the world’s first popular SNSMembers meet new people onlineMembers seem to self-disclose online and make trusting relationshipsMicropayments via “acorn” currency

Digg“a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web” (digg.com/about, May 4, 2008)Can navigate stories by friending people who post storiesDigg is not really for friendship.

Can friend LewP and navigate his stories (can also do this without friending) and friendsLewP is a human “recommender system”?

Last.FM Music-based site Helps members listen to music that they like or might likePrompts users to friend people listening to similar musicCan find new music liked by others with similar taste

3. Cybermetric case study of MySpace

Illustration of a range of types of “extractable” public information about MySpace members

MySpace members data sets 1. random sample of 15,043 members2. systematic sample of 7,627

members who joined on July 3, 20063. excluded: music sites, ex-members,

members with 0 or 1 friendsall information on home pages was

automatically downloaded and harvested by SocSciBot -> Excel

days since last access -members use MySpace once or frequently

allMembers >>

days since last access -members use MySpace once or frequently

July 3members

MySpace “age” profile:average “age” is 21

younger members have more MySpace friends

gender factorsfemale users more likely to be “here for” friendship and male users more likely to be “here for” dating (but only a minority)males and females both preferred to have more female friends and top 8 friendsfemales preferred a greater proportion of female Top 8 friends

women make the best friends!(403 data set)

who swears most?for US MySpace home pages: male = more likely to contain strong swearing

for UK MySpace home pages male = more likely to contain moderate

swearing no difference in strong swearing - possibly more

strong swearing in female home pages in the younger age groups

apparent reversal in gendered strong swearing in the UK for young people

July 3, 2006 members, extended collection >>

percentage of profiles containing swearing

moderate strong very strong sample size

US males 16-19 10% 47% 2% 1,530

US females 16-19 11% 38% 2% 1,287

UK males 16-19 33% 33% 8% 171

UK females 16-19 18% 38% 3% 130

(typical sample size 20-148 for non-web swearing research)

ConclusionsSocial network sites vary by country and typeSome sites with SNS features can help users find information (e.g., pictures, video, music, news) by navigating people rather than documents/objects“Friends” may also give specific advice, if asked nicely (as Lay Experts or even LIMs?)!Should librarians routinely suggest SNSs as an additional source of information – even emotional support?