The Ning social networking service has been used to create a social network for use by participants and other interested parties at IWMW 2008. [11 June 2008]

Following changes to the terms and conditions of the Ning social networking service a copy of the IWMW 2008 Ning social network has been taken. [16 August 2008]

Between threats from Anonymous and a new crackdown from Twitter, ISIS is having a tough time reaching out and recruiting new psychopaths online.

To circumvent the censorship, the Islamic militant group has reportedly created its own social network called “Khelafabook.”

The Facebook clone claims it is independent and not actually sponsored by ISIS (even though it has ISIS logos all over its homepage). It says its goal is to show the world that they don’t only “live in caves” and “carry guns,” and they vow to “will rule the world by Allah’s permission.”

Khelafabook was set up by a man in Mosul, Iraq, according to The Independent, and is hosted in Egypt. There’s also an associated Twitter account which is linked to from the site.

The site first popped up last week, but has already been taken offline “to protect the info and details of its members,” according to a message on the page.

After it was taken down, Twitter accounts associated with Anonymous appeared to claim responsibility, as Vocativ points out.

For the the time being they’ll have to look elsewhere to share their terrorist pancake recipes.

Collaborative Filtering(CF) is a well-known technique in recommender systems. CF exploits relationships between users and recommends items to the active user according to the ratings of his/her neighbors. CF suffers from the data sparsity problem, where users only rate a small set of items. That makes the computation of similarity between users imprecise and consequently reduces the accuracy of CF algorithms. In this article, we propose a clustering approach based on the social information of users to derive the recommendations. We study the application of this approach in two application scenarios: academic venue recommendation based on collaboration information and trust-based recommendation. Using the data from DBLP digital library and Epinion, the evaluation shows that our clustering technique based CF performs better than traditional CF algorithms.

The current advertising push methods have low accuracy and poor advertising conversion effects. Therefore, a Weibo marketing advertising push method based on social network data mining is studied. Firstly, establish a social network graph and use graph clustering algorithm to mine the association relationships of users in the network. Secondly, through sparsisation processing, the association between nodes in the social network graph is excavated. Then, evaluate the tightness between user preferences and other nodes in the social network, and use the TF-IDF algorithm to extract user interest features. Finally, an attention mechanism is introduced to improve the deep learning model, which matches user interests with advertising domain features and outputs push results. The experimental results show that the push accuracy of this method is higher than 95%, with a maximum advertising click through rate of 82.7% and a maximum advertising conversion rate of 60.7%.

Aim/Purpose: This study seeks to investigate if participation in business association’s programs through the traditional and new media platforms influences family businesses in South Eastern Nigeria to diversify into similar or different businesses. Background: Before the advances in information and communication technology, businesses were carried on via the traditional media. The application of these advances has changed the way business communications and transactions are conducted globally in both family and non-family businesses. Businesses are adapting to today’s turbulent environment by opening similar or different businesses in the same or different locations that are hinged on the traditional and new media platforms. Nigerians are largely involved in social network through the traditional (face-to-face contact) and new media (e.g., Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram). Moreover, in spite of the commonplaceness of family businesses in Nigeria, these businesses still experience weak diversification, bankruptcy and loss of socio-emotional wealth. Consequent upon the foregoing, this paper specifically investigates if involvement in social network via the traditional media (i.e., participation in business association’s meetings, workshops, seminars) and the new media (i.e., participation in the business association’s interactive sessions on trending business issues through the association’s online social platform like WhatsApp, Twitter), influence family businesses in South Eastern Nigeria to diversify into similar or different businesses. Methodology: The study adopted a qualitative methodology. The qualitative data were generated via interview involving 30 purposively selected businesses from South Eastern Nigeria. This comprises 15 family businesses each that have respectively adopted related and unrelated diversification strategies. Two respondents (i.e., the business owner and a top level manager) each were drawn from the selected businesses. In all, 60 respondents were interviewed. Since the unit of analysis is the family business, the interview transcriptions from all the respondents were subjected to thematic content analysis on the basis of the family businesses. Contribution: Active involvement and participation in all the meetings, discussions, workshops and seminars of the social network via the traditional and new media platforms facilitates the adoption of related or unrelated diversification in family businesses. Moreover, the adoption of similar social network platforms like WhatsApp and Twitter in all the relationships among and between employees and managers, and the transactions of the businesses is one of the key factors for achieving successful related or unrelated diversification in family businesses. Findings: In spite of the risky nature of the business environment, the adoption of related diversification strategies is significantly influenced by resources such as business consultancy services garnered through the traditional and new media platforms of the social network. Also, family businesses that are actively involved in a social network where the actors interact through the traditional and new media are influenced by the resources acquired to consider adopting unrelated diversification. These resources include: better understanding of the nature of business challenges, environments and experiences; and different lines of businesses. Thus, the traditional and new media platforms are complementary in their roles. Recommendations for Practitioners: Family business owner-managers could use the findings to develop related or unrelated strategies for diversifying into existing or new markets. This can be through the localization of manufacturing plant, improvement of product packaging, sitting of sales outlet closer to the consumers, introduction of lower prices for products/services, introduction of new and better ways of service delivery, or development of more compelling promotion strategies. Recommendation for Researchers: As a veritable guide, this study could guide future researchers in the formulation of their objectives, selection of instrument for data collection and respondents, and adoption of method of data analysis. Impact on Society: Successful diversification suggests the establishment of new or more businesses. Consequently, these new or more family businesses are expected to translate to more employment opportunities and by extension reduction in unemployment and poverty rates in the society. Future Research: Further studies should be carried out to enhance the development of family businesses, contribute to the existing literature and ensure the generalization of the findings.

Aim/Purpose: The present study aims to describe existing peer-to-peer, social network-based sharing practices among adult students in teacher colleges. Background: Ubiquitous social network sites open up a wide array of possibilities for peer-to-peer information and knowledge sharing. College instructors are often unaware of such practices that happen behind the scenes. Methodology: An interpretative, qualitative research methodology was used. Thirty-seven Israeli students at a teacher college in Israel participated in either focus group discussions of (N = 29) or in-depth interviews (N = 8). Contribution: Whereas knowledge sharing has been a main focus of research in organizational and information sciences, its relevance to educational settings has thus far been underscored. Recent research shows that peer–to-peer knowledge sharing is wide-spread among teenage students. The current study extends that work to an adult student population. Findings: The findings show that knowledge sharing of this type is a common and even central feature of students’ college life and study behavior. It takes place through a variety of small and larger social network-based peer groups of different formations, including mostly college students but at time also practicing, experienced teachers. Sharing groups are formed on the spot for short term purposes or are stable, continuous over longer time periods. The contents shared are predominantly lesson summaries, material for exams, reading summaries, and lesson plans. They are used immediately or stored for future use, as students have access to vast data bases of stored materials that have been compiled throughout the years by students of previous cohorts. Teacher students mentioned a range of reasons for sharing, and overall regard it very positive. However, some downsides were also acknowledged (i.e., superficial learning, exclusion, attentional overload, and interruptions). Recommendations for Practitioners: College faculty and teaching staff should be cognizant and informed about these widespread peer-based knowledge sharing practices and consider whether perhaps changes in teaching formats and task assignments are required as a result. Future Research: Future research should extend this work to other higher education settings, cultures and countries, and should map the perceptions of higher education teaching staff about peer-to-peer, online knowledge sharing.

Aim/Purpose: Following the widespread use of social networking applications (SNAs) by children, adolescents, and young adults, this paper sought to examine the usage habits, sharing, and dangers involved from the perspective of the children, adolescents, and young adults. The research question was: What are the usage habits, sharing, drawbacks, and dangers of using SNAs from the perspective of children, adolescents, and young adults? Background: Safety has become a major issue and relates to a range of activities including online privacy, cyberbullying, exposure to violent content, exposure to content that foments exclusion and hatred, contact with strangers online, and coarse language. The present study examined the use of social networking applications (SNAs) by children, adolescents, and young adults, from their point of view. Methodology: This is a mixed-method study; 551participants from Israel completed questionnaires, and 110 respondents were also interviewed. Contribution: The study sought to examine from their point of view (a) characteristics of SNA usage; (b) the e-safety of SNA; (c) gender differences between age groups; (d) habits of use; (e) hazards and solutions; and (f) sharing with parents and parental control. Findings: Most respondents stated that cyberbullying (such as shaming) happens mainly between members of the group and it is not carried out by strangers. The study found that children’s awareness of the connection between failures of communication in the SNAs and quarrels and disputes was lower than that of adolescents and young adults. It was found that more children than adolescents and young adults believe that monitoring and external control can prevent the dangers inherent in SNAs, and that the awareness of personal responsibility increases with age. The SNAs have intensified the phenomenon of shaming, but the phenomenon is accurately documented in SNAs, unlike in face-to-face communication. Therefore, today more than ever, it is possible and necessary to deal with shaming, both in face-to-face and in SNA communication. Recommendations for Practitioners: Efforts should be made to resolve the issue of shaming among members of the group and to explain the importance of preserving human dignity and privacy. The Internet in general and SNAs in particular are an integral part of children’s and adolescents’ life environment, so it can be said that the SNAs are part of the problem because they augment shaming. But they can also be part of the solution, because interactions are accurately documented, unlike in face-to-face communication, where it is more difficult to examine events, to remember exactly what has been said, to point out cause and effect, etc. Therefore, more than ever before, today it is possible and necessary to deal with shaming both in face-to-face and in the SNA communication, because from the point of view of youngsters, this is their natural environment, which includes smart phones, SNAs, etc. Recommendations for Researchers: The study recommends incorporating in future studies individual case studies and allowing participants to express how they perceive complex e-Safety situa-tions in the use of social networking apps. Impact on Society: Today more than ever, it is possible and necessary to deal with shaming, both in face-to-face and in SNA communication. Future Research: The study was unable to find significant differences between age groups. Fur-ther research may shed light on the subject.

Aim/Purpose: This study aims to uncover how Social Network Sites (SNSs) active users who are eager to be knowledgeable about a specific domain develop a professional identity, what practices they use, and how do SNSs afford professional identity development. Background: Some researchers have shown that SNSs play a central role in personal development, but there is a lack of studies tracing the actual role of SNSs affordances in professional identity development. Methodology: Seven participants were followed during a whole year; we examined their professional identity development based on data collected from interviews, cued retrospective reports, and online activities. Contribution: The study shows that SNSs create a new context for professional identity development, a context whose new characteristics bring specific actors to a spectacular development in their professional identity. Based on the findings we suggest a new framework of professional identity development with SNSs. Findings: We identified a wide range of activities and changes in the perceived professional identity. We found that there are four phases of SNS’s professional identity development. The study also uncovers the three aspects of identity development: self-presentation, around-the-clock sociality, and interaction with information. The model of professional development through intensive use of SNSs is validated by our reports on the actual behaviors afforded by SNSs. Recommendations for Practitioners: The conceptual framework displayed in the article can help educational institutions to implement SNSs in order to enhance professional identity development. Guidance will allow students to handle self-presentation, sociality, and information management. By doing so, the guides will help achieving meaningful SNS activities and encouraging students to be involved in their fields of interest, thereby enhancing their professional identity. Future Research: Future studies may examine the implementation of SNSs for the exploration process leading to identity development in various educational institutions. A few years longitudinal study may examine the lifelong professional identity development in varied SNSs. Moreover, in the COVID-19 world crisis when life is in digital spaces more than ever, it will be interesting to study the role of SNSs of professional identity development in the population that lost their jobs.

Understanding of social network structure and user behavior has important implications for site design, applications (e.g., ad placement policies), accurate modeling for social studies, and design of next-generation infrastructure and content distribution systems. Currently, characterizations of social networks have been dominated by topological studies in which graph representations are analyzed in terms of connectivity using techniques such as degree distribution, diameter, average degree, clustering coefficient, average path length, and cycles. The problem is that these parameters are not completely satisfactory in the sense that they cannot account for individual events and have only limited use, since one can produce a set of synthetic graphs that have the exact same metrics or statistics but exhibit fundamentally different connectivity structures. In such an approach, a node drawn as a small circle represents an individual. A small circle reflects a black box model in which the interior of the node is blocked from view. This paper focuses on the node level by considering the structural interiority of a node to provide a more fine-grained understanding of social networks. Node interiors are modeled by use of six generic stages: creation, release, transfer, arrival, acceptance, and processing of the artifacts that flow among and within nodes. The resulting description portrays nodes as comprising mostly creators (e.g., of data), receivers/senders (e.g., bus boys), and processors (re-formatters). Two sample online social networks are analyzed according to these features of nodes. This examination points to the viability of the representational method for characterization of social networks.

Aim/Purpose: In the light of the recent attention to the role of social media in the dissemination of fake news, it is important to understand the relationship between the characteristics of the social media content and re-sharing behavior. This study seeks to examine individual level antecedents of information re-sharing behavior including individual beliefs about the quality of information available on social network sites (SNSs), attitude towards SNS use and risk perceptions and attitudes. Methodology: Testing the research model by data collected through surveys that were adminis-tered to test the research model. Data was collected from undergraduate students in a public university in the US. Contribution: This study contributes to theory in Information Systems by addressing the issue of information quality in the context of information re-sharing on social media. This study has important practical implications for SNS users and providers alike. Ensuring that information available on SNS is of high quality is critical to maintaining a healthy user base. Findings: Results indicate that attitude toward using SNSs and intention to re-share infor-mation on SNSs is influenced by perceived information quality (enjoyment, rele-vance, and reliability). Also, risk-taking propensity and enjoyment influence the intention to re-share information on SNSs in a positive direction. Future Research: In the dynamic context of SNSs, the role played by quality of information is changing. Understanding changes in quality of information by conducting longitudinal studies and experiments and including the role of habits is necessary.

Aim/Purpose: The media and research have made significant noise about young people’s addictions to technology, however the American Psychological Association (APA) has reserved judgment on the clinical diagnosis of technology addiction. Research to understand technology addiction is important to the future of information systems development and behavioral usage understanding. Background: Addiction implies that there is a problem from which an IS client needs to try to recover, further implying a negative impact on life. Multiple defini-tions and outcomes of addictions have been studied in the information systems discipline, with virtually no focus on quality of life of the IS client. Methodology: This research employs a survey of students at a large southwestern United States university. Measures were adopted from previously validated sources. The final sample includes 413 usable responses analyzed using PLS. Contribution: This research broadens theoretical and practical understanding of SNS IS client perceptions by relating technology addiction to a broader impact on an individual’s life. By doing so, it provides guidance on society’s understanding of frequent technology use, as well as the development of new systems that are highly used. Findings: This research indicates diminished impulse control, distraction, social influence and satisfaction are all highly correlated with technology addiction; specifically, 55% of the variance in addiction is explained by these four indicators. However, the model further shows addiction has no significant relationship with overall satisfaction of life, indicating that IS clients do not correlate the two ideas. Recommendations for Practitioners: Heavy technology use may indicate a paradigm shift in how people inter-act, instead of a concern to be addressed by the APA. Recommendation for Researchers: Research needs to clearly define technology dependence, addiction, and overuse so that there is a strong understanding of what is meant. These findings help guide assumptions about the dark side of Information Technology. Impact on Society: While technology use is increasing, younger generations may find the use to be acceptable and less of a problem then older generations. Future Research: Future research should replicate these findings on other technology artifacts and other technology addiction definitions. In the future, there is also opportunity to delve deeper into the outcome variable of satisfaction with life.

This month sees the launch of Snooker Network, a dedicated social network for snooker players worldwide.

Dr. Todd Canatella and Dr. Josh Patella, New Orleans emergency dentists, invite patients to join their ever-growing social media channels-Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

Dr. Donald Beasley, ENT in Nampa, Meridian and Boise, ID, invites patients to join his practice's Facebook and Twitter pages.

The Social Activities App is connecting people through shared activities, interests, and local events.

Information about the IWMW 2006 Frappr social network is now available. IWMW 2006 participants are invited to join. [2006-06-19]

DSTR-DFSSNDL - Impact of social networks on digital liquidity

Making use of Twitter I have spent hours on end gaining contacts for Twitter. You may become discouraged when you first get started trying to establish contacts/followers but persistence will pay for itself eventually. Like any good search engine optimization you must maintain a constant campaign to prove to be effective. Social media marketing is […]

Social networks are a great way to introduce people to the power of Sociology. In my Intro class, I make a point to show students the way their social networks shape the spread of divorce, how people ask for help, and the surprisingly tangled world of dating. Now there’s a new take on networks – […]

New York, NY : Bloomsbury Academic, 2020.

Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, [2023]

The good news is that majority group members and men have an immense source of power at their disposal to prevent and confront bias in the workplace: their social networks. Here is how you can take action.

You have a bigger sphere of influence than you realize. Most people think about their immediate circle of friends as their audience. However, research in the study of social networks has shown they are wrong. Your ideas and behaviors ripple out from you, influencing your friends, friends of friends whom you may not even know, and friends of those friends as well. In fact, a whole range of outcomes are influenced by these third order ties – your weight, your values and beliefs, even your risk of divorce. This is your sphere of influence, in both your place of work and your daily life.

Facebooks Path to Global Social Network Domination
From just a few thousand users in 2004 to 2.7 billion monthly active users (MAUs) in 2020, Facebook is by far the worlds largest social network.

But its massive global footprint did not grow overnight. While Facebook is the most popular social network in many countries, this traction didn’t happen overnight. And in other places, it still has not quite taken off.

To see Facebooks path to domination, we mapped each countrys most popular social network from 2008‒2020. The data was tabulated by Vincenzo Cosenza at Vincos.it by examining annual traffic data from Alexa and SimilarWeb.

Facebook Grows From the Americas to Southeast Asia
What famously started as Mark Zuckerbergs late-night intoxicated project called Facemash—a hot or not type website for students at Harvard University—soon evolved into the worlds predominant social network.

Before 2008, the social network landscape was populated by social network pioneers such as Myspace and Hi5. Googles Orkut was the most popular network in Brazil and India, and Friendster found a foothold in Southeast Asia.

But the Facebook wave came in earnest. By 2009, the social media giant took the title of most popular network for the bulk of the Americas, Europe, South Asia, and Oceania, with Orkut in Brazil being the sole holdout until 2011.

The coronavirus pandemic boosted social media usage around the world, as many people stayed home for weeks or months. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter are all gaining new users, though not all will benefit equally from 2020s growth.

How many internet users worldwide visit social platforms regularly?

An estimated 3.23 billion people, or 80.7% of internet users worldwide, will use a social network at least once per month in 2020.

Which countries have the largest populations of social media users?

China and India continue to rank first and second. As a result, Asia-Pacific remains the leading region, with 1.89 billion people using social networks in 2020.

Where will the most new users emerge?

China will post the most sizable increase, with 58.3 million more users than in 2019. India will gain 31.8 million social network users, while Brazil will add 10.0 million.

Facebook is often considered the 800-pound gorilla of the social networking market. Its family of apps -- which includes its main app, Instagram, and WhatsApp -- grew its monthly active users 14% year over year to 3.21 billion last quarter. Facebook also shares a near-duopoly with Alphabet's Google in the digital ad market.

However, several major social networks are still growing in Facebooks shadow. Lets take a closer look at three of them, how they withstood competition from Facebook, and what that resilience means for Facebooks long-term prospects.

1. Snapchat
2. Pinterest
3. Tiktok

National Bureau of Economic Research

It's possible that we're looking at the genesis of the first AR social media platform.

Any adventurer, hiker or backyard naturalist with a camera can help scientists survey and hopefully save the world’s amphibians thanks to a new social networking site that links “citizen scientists” with researchers tracking the decline of amphibians around the globe.

The post Scientists turn to social networking and citizen scientists to help keep track of amphibians appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Effective flood-risk communications should include specific information on how householders can protect themselves and their property against flooding, a recent Dutch study concludes. The researchers’ evaluation of communication strategies also highlights an important role for social media in spreading messages about flood risk and protection.

Stakeholder support is essential to the success of environmental policies. A recent study has identified stakeholders that can promote biodiversity in European agricultural landscapes. The researchers found farmers were the most influential group of stakeholders, as they make the final decisions on land use. In turn, farmers are influenced in their decisions by a number of actors whose influence is perceived differently on a local and regional level.

A new study finds that the decision to vaccinate a child is as much social and cultural as it is science-based.

London based start-up company NutriStandard launched a new social media platform that focuses on food and healthy living.