Abstract
Limitations in data collection have long been an obstacle in research on friendship networks. Most earlier studies use either a sample of ego-networks, or complete network data on a relatively small group (e.g., a single organization). The rise of online social networking services such as Friendster and Facebook, however, provides researchers with opportunities to study friendship networks on a much larger scale. This study uses complete network data from Hyves, a popular online social networking service in the Netherlands, comprising over eight million members and over 400 million online friendship relations. In the first study of its kind for the Netherlands, I examine the structure of this network in terms of the degree distribution, characteristic path length, clustering, and degree assortativity. Results indicate that this network shares features of other large complex networks, but also deviates in other respects. In addition, a comparison with other online social networks shows that these networks show remarkable similarities.
Highlights
IntroductionThe remarkable rise to prominence of online social networks is relevant for at least two reasons
For social scientists, the remarkable rise to prominence of online social networks is relevant for at least two reasons
I focus in this paper on online friendship networks, which can be defined as Online Social Networks in which social interaction per se is the main focus of the service
Summary
The remarkable rise to prominence of online social networks is relevant for at least two reasons. From a substantive point of view, online social networks provide a novel way of social interaction, providing individuals with new ways to communicate, spread information, and coordinate collective action. Online social networks may be interesting from a methodological perspective, as data from such networks provides us with new ways to study social structure and provide a way out from the problems of traditional social networks research, as will be outlined below. I adopt the common definition of Online Social Networks as ‘‘as web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system’’ [1]. Services like Flickr [3], which are primarily centered around displaying photos and have ‘‘social’’ features in addition to that are not included this definition
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