Science Roundup summarizes an article in Science:

Social networks are dynamic processes that evolve over time depending on the shared characteristics, activities, and affiliations of their members. In a Report in the 6 Jan 2006 Science Kossinets and Watts offered an empirical analysis of social network evolution in a large university community. Over the course of one academic year, the team compiled a registry of e-mail interactions between more than 43,000 students, faculty, and staff. In combination with encrypted information about personal attributes, as well as lists of classes taught and attended, the team assembled a quantitative picture of how the strength of personal interactions depends on similarities between the individuals and how the interactions change with time. The results show that at least in this particular environment, people were more likely to form ties with others when they had a shared “focus” such as a class that brought them together or a mutual acquaintance, but were less likely to interact solely on the basis of shared characteristics such as age or gender. Comparative studies of corporate or military networks could shed light on which features of network evolution are generic and which are specific to a given cultural, organizational, or institutional context. [Emphasis added]

(Science Mag only posts the abstract of the article for free.) (Thanks to Andrew Weinberger for the link.) [Tags: email social networks demographics]

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