Social and Computer Networks

The study of social networks is an important area of social scientific inquiry. Network analysts have developed a range of methodological tools for studying the relationships between individuals, groups, and other social entities and, perhaps more importantly, patterns of relations. The application of these methods have allowed for major advances in the understanding of how ties between people and larger social entities (e.g., organizations) are patterned as well as the consequences of these patterns.

Recently a range of scholars have begun to apply network-based theories and methods to online networks. These networks range from literal computer networks, to networks of websites, to networks of users, and beyond.

Industry has also been increasingly interested in social networks, as evidenced by popular websites such as MySpace, Friendster, and FaceBook. A similar trend is found in referral applications, such as Amazon and Netflix's referral applications, which use similarity in expressed preferences in books, music, and videos to recommend new merchandise to consumers.

Important questions arise from these developments, such as:

* How are social networks affected by technology use (e.g., How do applications that facilitate networking affect social networks? More generally, does technology use expand networks? Expand certain kinds of networks? Atrophy other kinds of networks?)

* Do different kinds of technologies affect networks differently (e.g., do wireless devices like cell phones have different impacts on networks than Internet use, etc.)

* How connected are objects on the web and are there important patterns in those connections?

* How can computer scientists, engineers, and other technologists build software that helps to collect and analyze social network- based data?

* How can computer scientists, engineers, and other technologists improve new technologies based on network-based analyses? For instance, could ad-hoc networking benefit from data on enduring patterns in social networking? Could the relationships between software programs be used to build better software for privacy protection (e.g., better detection of root kits, key loggers, and other malicious code)?

The questions, and others that lie at the intersection of social network analysis and computing, will be examined in this seminar.