Social Network Analysis Measuring, Mapping, and Modeling Collections of Connections Ta 3.1 Introduction 31 3.5.3. Chastering and Commumity Detection Aleonitims 4 3.2 The Network Perspective 32 eee 3.2.1 A Simple Twiter Network Example 3 3.34, Smaps, Nene ots, od Sot 3.2.2 Verices 4 3.23 Edges 34 3.6. Social Networks in the Bra of Abundant 3.2.4 Network Data Representations 34 Computation Sourrreietineena 436 3:7 The Bra of Abundant Social Networks: 3.3.1 Full, Partial, and Egocentric Networks 36 ‘From the Desktop to Your Pocket 33.2 vane ‘Multimodal, and Affiliation - 3.8 Tools for Network Analysis 47 evo 3.3.3. Maples Nenworks 37 3.9. Node-Link Diagrams: Visually Mapping ra rf a me Social Networks 4 3.4 The Network Analysis Research and : 3.10 Common Network Analysis Questions i fs Risso Tandon 27 Applied to Social Media " SNS REE Ree TsTate 4 Bell Practitioner’ Summary 48 3.5.2 Vertex Specific Newworks Metis 40 3.12 Researchers Agenda 49 3.1. INTRODUCTION are primordial. Simply stated Human beings have been part of social networks since our earliest days. We are born and live in a world of connections. People connect with others through Social networks formed by kinship, language, trade, exchange, conflict, citation, and collaboration. Computer technologies used to create social networks are relatively ew, but networks of social interactions and exchanges The actor between the vertices are called Gages) Ge and (inks. Many natural and artificial systems form networks, which exist in systems from the atomic level to the planetary level. Social networks are created whenever people interact, directly or indirectly, with other people, nga that are connected are called Codes)\ertices) “Fh, Gutitisgyand in some caiaee ‘conneciions 332 institutions, and artifacts. Social network theory and analysis is a relatively recent set of ideas and methods largely developed over the past 80 years. It builds on and uses concepts from the mathematics of graph the- ory, which has a longer history. Using network analysis, you can visualize complex sets of relationships as maps (e,, graphs or sociograms) of connected symbols and calculate precise measures of the size, shape, and den- sity of the network as a whole and the positions of each element within it. The recent proliferation of Internet social media applications and mobile devices has made social con- nections more visible than ever before (Chapter 2). The idea of networks, whether they are composed of friends, ideas, or web pages, is increasingly an important way to think about the modern world. Social network analysis helps you explore and visualize patterns found within collections of linked entities that include people. From the perspective of social network analysis, the treelike “org-chart” that commonly represents the hierarchical structure of an organization or enterprise is too simple and lacks important information about the cross con- nections that exist between and across departments and divisions. In contrast with the simplified tree structure of an org-chart, a social network view of an organiza- tion or population leads to the creation of visualizations that resemble maps of highway systems, airline routes, or rail networks (See Chapter 8). Social network maps can similarly guide journeys through social landscapes and tell a story about how some points are at the cen- ter or periphery of the network. Transportation net- works where distance is measured in number of flights or roads from one city to another city are familiar. They inspire application to less familiar networks of electrical connections, protein expression, and webs of informa: tion, conversation, and human connection. Social network analysis and metrics are described in several excellent books and journals [1-6]. This chap- ter touches on the key historical developments, ideas, and concepts in social network analysis and applies them to social media network examples. We have left details of advanced topics and mathematical definitions of various concepts to the many fine technical works. ‘The following is intended as an introductory survey of the core network concepts and methods used in subse- quent chapters, which focus on the networks that can be extracted from social media sources like Twitter, Facebook, email, discussion forums, YouTube, Flickr, wikis, and the web. 3.2. THE NETWORK PERSPECTIVE Network analysts see the world as a,collectionsof texconnected. pieces, Those studying social networks ». SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS The focus of social network analy sis is between, not within people. Whereas traditional social science research methods such as surveys focus on individuals and their attributes (e.g,, gendet, age, income), network scientists focus on the connections that bind individuals together, not exclusively on their internal qualities or abilities. This change in focus from attribute data to relational data dramatically affects how data are collected, represented, and analyzed. Social network analysis complements methods that focus more narrowly on individuals, adding a critical dimen- sion tha¢ captures the connective tissue of societies and ‘other complex interdependencies. Network analysis shares some core ideas with the real estate profession. In contrast to approaches that Fook at internal attributes of each individual, network analysis shares the real estate focus on location, loca: tion, location! The interior of a house may be a liability, biit wfiere a property is located matters far more when trying to get a good sale price. The network perspec- tive looks at a collection of ties among a population and ‘creates measurements that describe the location of each person or entity within the structure of all relationships in the network. The, fany network explanations Took for causes of outcomes in the patterns of connec- tions around an individual instead of their personal characteristics. “Know who” is often more important in network explanations than “know how.” Network approaches observe that different people in similar cir cumstances and social positions often act in similar ways. Positions within networks may be as significant a factor as any aspect of the people who occupy them. Network analysis argues that explanations about the success or failures of organizations are often to be found in the structure of relationships that limit and provide opportunities for interaction (7 ‘Many network concepts ate intuitive and echo famil- iar phrases like “friend of a friend,” “word of mouth,” and “six degrees of separation.” Other network terms like “transitivity,” “triadic closure,” and “centrality” (see Section 3.5) may be unfamiliar terms for familiar social arrangements. Many of us recognize social net work differences among people: we know some people who are “popular” and have connections to many oth ers, We may also know some people who may be less “popular” but are still “influential,” connecting to a smaller number of people who have “better” connéc- tions, Network analysis recognizes these and other less intuitively sensed. patterns in social relationships, like measuring the number of your friends who know each GETTING STARTED WITH ANALYZING SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKSother and how much a person occupies a gatekeeper or fridge role between two groups. The network analysis tipproach makes the web of interconnections that bind people to one another visible, creating a mathematical ied graphical language that can highlight important people, events, and subgroups 3.2.1 A Simple Twitter Network Example To better understand the network perspective, con- sider the social network of Twitter users shown in line, or edge, exists between two people when one “fol: Figure 3.1 (see Chapters 2 and 10 for a description of ‘Twitter) It is an example of a sociogram, also called a network graph, which is a common way of visualizing networks. Like all networks, it consists of two primary building blocks: vertices (also called nodes or agents) and edges (also called ties or connections). The vertices are represented by images of the Twitter users, and the edges are represented by the lines that point from one vertex to another. 32 THE NETWORK PERSPECTIVE 33 This simple graph paints a picture of the social rela tionship of the Twitter users who tweeted about a 2009 workshop on information in networks at New York University! by including the text string “#WINO9.” The size of each Twitter user’s profile image is determined by the user s’fota))number of tweets a5 reported by the ‘Twitler Application Programmer Interface (APD, which gives sophisticated users access to powerful services This is one example of how attribute data (e.g, data that describe a person) can be overlaid onto a network. A lows” the other or if one e fo the other. Allof these connections in aggregate reveal the emergent structure of two distinct groups with few connecting links. This accurately represents the way the workshop brought together previously separate clusters cof people from different disciplines. It also helps iden- ‘ify individuals who fill important positions in the net work, such as those who many people follow and those who are connected to both clusters. This and following FIGURE A NodeXL socal mela network diagram of relationships among Twitter users mentloning the hashtag "HWINOS” used by attendees ofa conference on network science at New York University in September 2008. The size or each user’s vertex is proportional t the number of tweets that user has ever made, “hatp://winworkshop.net |. GETTING STARTED WITH ANALYZING SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS.