SOCIAL NETWORKING

A social network is a social structure made up of individuals (or organizations) called

"nodes", which are tied (connected) by one or more specific types of
interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange,
dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.

Social network analysis views social relationships in terms of network theory

consisting of nodes and ties (also called edges, links, or connections). Nodes are the
individual actors within the networks, and ties are the relationships between the
actors. The resulting graph-based structures are often very complex. There can be
many kinds of ties between the nodes. Research in a number of academic fields has
shown that social networks operate on many levels, from families up to the level of
nations, and play a critical role in determining the way problems are solved,
organizations are run, and the degree to which individuals succeed in achieving
their goals.

In its simplest form, a social network is a map of specified ties, such as friendship,
between the nodes being studied. The nodes to which an individual is thus
connected are the social contacts of that individual. The network can also be used
to measure social capital – the value that an individual gets from the social network.
These concepts are often displayed in a social network diagram, where nodes are
the points and ties are the lines.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the generation of this report are many. One of them is that we
would get to know how popular social networking is in today’s environment. This
Era, being called The Facebook Era, and so many people of all ages being inclined
towards social networking, why is it so? The Era is changing into one where social
networking is the hottest topic around and everyone is interacting through that.
People are becoming addicted; they just find it so difficult to manage a life without
these websites. The survey is done to find out the why, how, what, when and where
of this most famous issue used as topics of conversations over dinners and coffees.

A quantitative market research report carried out on social networking websites has
been compiled and conducted. To summarize, it is to determine:

How intensively social networking websites are used

The users' feedback concerning the privacy within these websites

The criticisms and demand regarding social networking websites' features

METHODS AND TOOLS

The method used in our research was a questionnaire. The guests were asked to fill
in or verbally answer the questions as per their interest in the survey.

The questionnaire was as follows:

It’s a very obvious thing to ask, but do you use social networking websites?

Yes

No

Which of the following social networking sites are you a member of?

Bebo

Facebook

Flixster

Hi5

LinkedIn

MySpace

Orkut

Other, please specify:

Roughly how long have you been using social networking sites?

Less than a month

1-6 months

6-12 months

1-2 years

2-4 years

4+ years

Roughly how many hours a week do you spend on social networking sites?
0-5

6-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51+

Please indicate what information you include on your social networking sites

Email address

Home town/city

Instant messenger address

Mobile number

Photos of others

Photos of yourself

Political views

Real name

Relationship status

Sexual orientation

Other, please specify:

Roughly how many friends in total do you have in all of your social networking sites?

0-10

11-50

51-100

101-250
250+

Please indicate who you speak to most using social networking sites

Never Rarely Fairly often Nearly Always

Close friends

Co-workers

Family

Friends

People that live far away

Strangers / people you do not already know

In general, how concerned are you about the privacy of the following information you submit on social networking
sites?

Not at A Somewha Highl

all little t y

Dating history

Financial information (eg. info on things you buy, where

you buy from, etc)

Gossip between friends

Intimate secrets
 Not at A Somewha Highl
all little t y

Lifestyle related (eg. photos, blogs, history etc)

Professional / work related information

Religious / political beliefs

In general, how active are you in safeguarding (protecting) the following information submitted by you on social
networking sites?

Not at A Somewha Highl

all little t y

Dating history

Financial information (eg. info on things you buy, where

you buy from, etc)

Gossip between friends

Intimate secrets

Lifestyle related (eg. photos, blogs, history etc)

Professional / work related information

Religious / political beliefs

Please answer the following in regards to the social networking site you use the most
*For the Respondent, the terms of responses are presented in random order.

Not at A somewha highl

all little t y

I feel that the privacy of my personal information is

protected

I trust it will not use my personal information for any other

purpose

I worry that I will be embarrassed by information others

post about me on it

I would continue to use it regardless of its privacy policy if

it helps me meet new people

I would continue to use it regardless of its privacy policy if

it helps me stay in touch with friends

I would continue to use it regardless of its privacy policy if

it is popular

What feature that is currently not available on social networking sites would you
most like to see?

What feature of social networking sites do you most dislike?