Social networks are networks, those

1. in the sociology given interaction networks (e.g. Acquaintance networks) illustrate,
2. describe goal-referred organizations (e.g. informal unions, federations) of humans, who expect by the network an advantage experienced or in (mostly) the management economics;
3. in the system theory they are then often understood as systems.

(to consider are still psychological and educational applications and/or "“schools"”, were likewise established.)

Different uses

Description of social interactions

The term "“social network"” is in the first case a description of social interactions of arbitrary type and first in the English Social Anthropology (see Ethnosoziologie) by J. Clyde Mitchell, A.L. Epstein, Bruce Kapferer (of the Manchester School) was among other things used, in order to determine and explain loose self organizations of individual immigrants in colonial industrial cities (e.g. in Zambia); the term was then transferred to Europe, in order e.g. informal measured variables for conjugal division of labor to the trace to come (Elizabeth Bott), and into Germany particularly by Franz Urban Pappi, Peter Kappelhoff and others, in order to open will formations in the local government policy (see city sociology). The useful of this beginning was that "“social networks"” do not have straight "“goals"”, but very disparate goals of individual participants and groups link, and straight for this lacked before an analytic term. A likewise very important early application for the analysis of social networks existed in the klassischenMoreno Soziometrie in the first half 20. Century (designated after the sociologist and economist Jacob L. Moreno (1932, 1934). Its Soziometrie is particularly for graphic illustrations of networks and relations admits become.

Intended one loose form of the organization

Then, in the second case, the term was transferred and modified for the description of an intended loose form of the organization. It covered first cliques and such only in this case is a "“network"” partly with the system thought compatible, which plays a large role in nature and technology, as well as in the range of the social and social processes. It was partially then varnishing used also (see ideology), in order to describe (particularly flatten) hierarchies without reference to "“rule"”, by - not at all unrealistically - stressing forms of co-operation. It lost however exactly the character to uncover an inadvertent structuring.

A such network is for example the sum from social contacts to the acquisition of personal advantages, for example in the policy or in the working life (career network). The term network replaces here linguistically the rather negatively occupied terms Seilschaft and Vitamin B, with which the relations networks of the others, for example the political opponent, are abqualifiziert. The own connections for acquisition of personal advantages against it today as network are beautiful-talked.

Networks in the system theory

The perception of the environment as a network, thinking in networks, is an element (not only) of the system thinking, which out-worked itself in the last decades within all ranges as a priority paradigm of modern thinking. Conditions here first the composition of the system from its parts, and the statement of the characteristics of the system parts and the overall system in the foreground of the interest, then stepped out nevertheless soon the relations of the system parts to each other as independent dimension. It turned out fast that the sum of the characteristics of the parts does not result in the characteristics of the whole one. The systemic characteristics are present not with an individual system part, but arise as a result of the processful relations of the parts. On closer inspection these parts dissolve even again into smaller network-like organized systems, so that finally the connections, relations and process as independent level primarily into the view come.

In the technology this is able even a new class of "“errors"” (seen from the engineering science: from "“systemic errors"”) before eyes move, which can endanger in extreme cases even the system (e.g. a manufacturing plant) catastrophically (system destruction).

Concretized on (mostly) the economic range the system-theoretical beginning means a break with conventional, hierarchical dirigistisch set organisational structures and a turn to co-operation and co-ordination in networks in economics and society. The participants acting in these networks act in the framework of organizations, enterprises or as individuals in different networks. Enterprises and organizations form own networks and into larger network architecture are merged. (Usually in the economical organization teachings) much is expected, postulated synergetic effects and placed by with it connected the diskursiven processes innovations in prospect. Even if at the same time the difficulties of this development become clear, then (2003) the trend is nevertheless unbroken and a reorientation on set, which finds its beginnings in forms of network marketing.

According to Weyer (2000) (systemic) social networks can be divided according to the action ranges in four categories:

• Strategic networks - enterprise networks
• Regional networks
• Policy networks
• Innovation networks

Investigation of social networks

Social networks are investigated among other things in the Ethnologie, sociology, social psychology, communication science, computer physics and game theory. But an unfolded terminology exists, "“network density"” u.v.a.m.). The procedures developed there can be used also for the webometrischen investigation of the Internets. It shows up that social networks of their structure often form miniature world networks, in which the maximum distance between individual units is surprisingly small.

Popularity attained the Small World experiment of the US-American psychologist Stanley Milgram of 1967. 300 test participants from the middle west of the USA should send a package to a goal person in the environment of Boston. They were allowed to further-send the package however only at them well-known persons. If they could not settle their task directly, they should pass the transmission on to an acquaintance, who could know the goal person according to her opinion. With the fact Milgram had discovered that usually six stopovers are sufficient, in order to supply the packages from the sender to the receiver. From this it developed the theory that the members of a social network stand with one another maximally over six junctions in connection ("“six degress OF separation"”).

Details for the simulation of social networks are under the keyword miniature world phenomenon.

See also: Network, graph theory, Netzwerktheorie, Figuration (sociology), network poverty

Social software

In the USA in the year 2003 with Social software the trend developed to use the possibilities of the Internet for the education of virtual social networks. Special advantage over material social networks is the local freeness and the small expenditure to the network care. Particularly on attaching of relations nets co-ordinated software and techniques are for example Handshakes.de, FOAF or the JanusWeb.

Can general be differentiated between private and vocational networks. Private networks serve bundling more privately, often leisureoriented interests. Vocational networks serve the generation of business by recommendations.

See also: Social Computing

See also

• Computer-obtained communication

Articles in category "Social network"

We found here 8 articles.

Related Websites

We found here 4 related websites.

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