Social networks describe the connections between nodes which are normally people or organizations. The interdependency of these relationships can be a variety of factors such as shared experiences, values, ideas, financial exchanges, friendship, conflict or trade. Two famous applications of social networks is the game, “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” and the ‘Where’s George’ analysis by Dr Dirk Brockmann on the transfer history of specific currency bills throughout America as a proxy for the transmission vector of contagious diseases.
In business, the informal network is part of the way that things get done particularly in large diverse organizations. Services such as Linked In, Ryze, Xing and Plaxo compete with Facebook and Myspace to extend the life of these valuable services.
In this report we review the experience and provide answers to questions like what are the drivers to their consumption? Which are the most popular? What is the expectation for growth? How does your network compare to your business peers?
