Social Capital in Online Social Networks

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As part of my postgraduate investigation I did a lot of function on Social Network Theory and Social Capital -- two academic theories from the social sciences field. This was before the rise of via the internet social networking internet sites. I lately revisited some of the function I did, and I became interested in mapping the concept of Social Capital to on the web social networks as they exist nowadays. In order to to that, here is initial a definition and explanation (pulled from my dissertation):

Closely related to social network theory is the theory of 'social capital' which deals with the intrinsic value of network structures. In common terms, social capital "consists of resources embedded in social relations and social structure, which can be mobilized when an actor wished to increase the likelihood of success in a purposive action" (Lin, 2001b). Lin (2001a) points out two very important components concerning this definition:

• First, resources are embedded in social relations rather than in the individual. The properties of the network and an actor's position in that network are even more critical than the actor himself.
  
• Second, access and use of these resources are dependent on an actor becoming conscious of their presence. If an actor is not aware of ties or relationships in between him and other actors, he can't use the resources obtainable to him. Social capital then seems not to exist, and will only come into existence for that actor when he becomes aware of it. The capability to identify networks and important role-players in these networks will for that reason make it doable to identify social capital where the relevant actors may well be fully unaware of them. The objective of acquiring the important actors in a network can for this reason be likened to gauging the social capital of a network and finding value in networks where it was not previously observed.

From the definition it is inferred that social capital depends very first on an actor's position in the network (are they in the correct place to access the resources?), and second it depends on the nature of the resources in the network (are the resources worth accessing?).

 

It is particularly fascinating to believe about on line social networking sites in this context. The social capital (the value of becoming in the network) depends not just on the individual folks in that network, but extremely heavily on the way they are connected. Connecting to the "suitable" people finish up defining you and developing your social capital, simply because other people today will "judge" the amount of capital you have based on your connections and your interactions with these connections. In this context it is necessary to come across those "key actors" in the network that are going to enhance your social capital the most -- the well-known guy, your VP at function, and so on.

Now, according to Adler and Kwon (2000), there are three advantages of social capital:

• Social capital delivers actors in the network with access to broader sources of information and facts at lower expenses.
  
• Social capital offers actors in the network with extended power and influence.
  
• Social capital facilitates solidarity in between actors, as strong networks encourage compliance with guidelines and customs without having the want for formal controls.

Once more, it is interesting to overlay these concepts on social networks over the internet. Let's appear at every in turn:

 

• Access to broader sources of details at lower fees. "Lower costs" in this context would mean much less effort -- you are able to get access to the details you want about your friends without getting to reach out to them in a regular sense with a telephone call or hanging out. On Facebook, for example, the news comes to you through the "Mini-Feed" application. You know what the men and women in your network watch, eat, do, listen to, and so on. And this social information and facts is of course an exceptionally potent promoting tool. Social networks enable this details to spread a lot even more effortlessly (i.e. at "lower cost").
  
• Extended power and influence. People with higher social capital not only get the benefit of extra (even though not necessarily superior) information, but they also stand the opportunity to develop into "opinion leaders" that a lot of many people rely on. And this is not necessarily the person with the most connections (I will speak about this in an upcoming post where I will talk about Ronald Burt's theory of Structural Holes). This power and influence can actually go a long way to create an web based identity that becomes a sense of pride -- give some thought to the lonelygirl15 phenomenon, or influential blogs like TMZ and The Drudge Report.
  
• Solidarity among actors (compliance with guidelines and customs without the need to have for formal controls). This is an fascinating 1 to feel about. Even although there is so much freedom to do and say what you want on line, strong social networks appear to have their own guidelines in terms of what is allowable and what is not. I believe here for example of the "Groups" feature in Facebook, where people who don't necessarily know every other connect over shared interests. "Misbehaving" on Facebook or MySpace, in whatever way that is defined for a certain network, will get you kicked out of the circle -- pals will drop you, groups will take you off their member lists, etc. This all serves to construct the strength of the network and its members even a lot more.

"So what?", you ask? Properly, I feel that we don't pay sufficient attention to theory. I just read this paragraph from my dissertation once again:

 

Theory and practice can't be separated. Practically each practical decision a individual makes and just about every practical opinion a individual holds has some theory behind it. Theory makes the facts of social life comprehensible and locations seemingly meaningless events in a common framework that enables us to identify trigger and impact, to clarify, and to interpret. Even half a century ago Revzan (1951) commented that "analysis leading to theory should really not merely condone practice, but really should seek rather to increase and direct such practice." Considerably earlier, Einstein (1938) observed that "science is not just a collection of laws, a catalogue of unrelated facts. It is a creation of the human mind, with its freely invented suggestions and concepts. Physical theories try to form a picture of reality and to establish a connection with the wide planet of sense impressions. Therefore the only justification for our mental structures is no matter whether and in what way our theories form such a link."

The theories of social networking and social capital can boost our understanding of what takes place in on line social networks, which can, in turn, grow to be powerful small business ideas. Some questions these theories raise for me are, for example, How can we point out who the opinion leaders are in your online social network, some thing that is not generally apparent? How can we use the guidelines and customs that web based networks adhere to in creating a a lot more meaningful encounter for users?

I think there is a lot of value in searching beyond networks to the social capital that they create. We need to fully grasp how on the internet social networks already manifest these concepts, and where there is still opportunities to use these theories to make much better experiences for users.

References:

Adler, P. S. & S. W. Kwon (2000). "Social Capital: The Superior, the Bad, and the Ugly". Information and Social Capital - Foundations and Applications. E. L. Lesser. Boston, Butterworth Heinemann.

Einstein, Albert & L. Infeld (1938). The Evolution of Physics.

 

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