How do social networks "work?"

What do Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter all have in common? They’re all successful social networking sites, or SNS’s [3]. But how has this genre of website been able to thrive like it has in the contemporary world? A number of factors contribute to the success of these kinds of websites including a sense of community among its users.

E.J. Westlake defines the functionality of Facebook, stating, “The Facebook community works as a team in performance to achieve “dramaturgical cooperation” in order to affirm each other’s performances and to define the local Facebook community. [1]” Here lies one of the important nuances regarding a SNS. These websites would be nothing without their users. Even more importantly, the more users a SNS gains, the more popular the site becomes, in turn, increasing the usage and interactions on the site. Much like how drugs or fads start, joining a SNS seems to be, in some cases, the result of peer pressure. If all of your friends are members of Facebook, why shouldn’t you be too? This is one of the many trends SNS’s have going for them.

However, the full degree in which a SNS operates is fairly exaggerated as pointed out by Huberman, Romero, and Wu in their essay, Social networks that matter: Twitter under the microscope [2]. These three state, “While the standard definition of a social network embodies the notion of all the people with whom one shares a social relationship, in reality people interact with very few of those “listed” as part of their network.” Meaning, the number of “friends” you have on Facebook or MySpace doesn’t reflect the number of actual friends a person has, or even the number of people they talk to and interact with via these sites. So while you have this slew of interconnected users, not all of them are using the connections to their full potential.

Any knowledgeable company or individual can have the idea, or create a SNS. What really matters are the number of users the site can attract, the longevity and outlook of the site, and the ability to keep those users. Without users, there are no SNS’s, plain and simple.

[1] Westlake, E.J. "Friend Me If You Facebook". The Drama Review. 52:4, 2008. p. 27. Internet.

[2] Huberman, Bernardo A./Romero, Daniel M./Wu, Fang: Social Networks That Matter: Twitter Under the Microscope. Social Computing Lab, HP Laboratories. 2008. p. 2. Internet.

[3] Snyder, Johnny/Carpenter, Donald/Slauson, Gayla Jo: MySpace.com. A Social Networking Site and Social Contract Theory. Information Systems Education Journal, 5 (2), 2007. p. 5. Internet