Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
2.2 Connection Strength
Sociologists studying social networks in practice have focused on the use of strong
ties compared to weak ties. Wellman observed that, despite cultural variability in
quantity, people categorize friends into three approximate groupings:
acquaintances, active contacts, and intimate friends, with a vast drop off in
numbers as intimacy increases [7].
Strong ties, also known as bonding ties, provide companionship and support,
and tend to form small and tightly linked networks of friends [8]. Close friends
and families provide excellent social support, but require significant investment to
maintain, and tend to provide new information infrequently. Recent studies from
Facebook show that commenting and messaging indicate maintenance of 10-26
strong online ties [9]. However, messaging may not indicate closeness, just as a
physical connection does not always result in an online connection.
Weak ties, or bridging ties, enable significant diversity of information and
opportunities to be collected [8]. Granovetter [10] defines the strength of a social
tie to be a “combination of the amount of time, the emotional intensity, the
intimacy (mutual confiding), and the reciprocal services which characterize a tie.”
Usually based on a specific context, these networks are low maintenance, and
enable the collection of novel information and opportunities because they
represent connections to more diverse clusters [8]. Similarly, information
transmission is enhanced by favoring weak ties, as such ties will ensure that the
information does not become trapped within cliques [10].
Unlike strong ties, the numbers of weak ties appear to be enhanced significantly
by digital technology by reducing the cost of maintaining these connections [8].
Since more weak tie connections can be made, social networks become more
valuable as available information and opportunities are increased [8]. Ideally one
wants to bridge disparate groups as then information from both is available, and
the person bridging gains status from the connections they could make.
Ties of all strengths appear to be enhanced by online social networks. Online
networks show growth patterns similar to measurements made offline, indicating
that inferences from physical world studies can be carried into the digital realm.
As shown in this study, some online connections are more important to individuals
than others, creating a direct parallel to these offline categories.
2.3 Social Network Perception
Freeman
et al.
[11] examined a tightly knit windsurfing community and show that
members are highly accurate at reporting observed general patterns of association,
but remember specific instances poorly. Janicik and Larrick [12] describe two
well-established mental schemas observed in human attempts at understanding
surrounding social relationships. The balance schema assumes that friendships are
reciprocal and transitive. The linear-ordered schema assumes that influences can
be asymmetric and transitive. This means that any friendship relationship is two-
way, and that information can spread outward through the network from its source
[12]. These schemas make us more likely to perceive that a missing relation exists
