Why Are Social Networks Popular?

Why is Facebook so popular? Can someone who has 2000+ "friends" on a social network really be capable of sustaining meaningful relationships with such a high volume of people?

Written Jul 29, 2008, read 871 times since then.

As a disclaimer I’d like to state that I’m not an expert on the habits of people. I have not studied psychology or sociology to back up my assertions with scientific data but I believe I can speak intelligently on the subject of social networks.

About a month ago I was at a dinner at The National Club in downtown Toronto with a few MBA’s from the Richard Ivey School of Business as well as some big venture capital/private equity experts. I’d asked what some of their best and worst investments were and they went on to explain some high tech deals, some software development projects, and even some old-fashioned manufacturing projects. They posses an intimate knowledge of how people work, how they click and the importance of networking in business development, but when the conversation steered toward Facebook, they were turned off. They saw value in sites like linkedin.com, classmates.com, but did not understand Facebook. They saw it as a way for potential employers to do behind the scenes research on job applicants, and simply a way to “kill time.” Interesting.

I think the misconception about the popularity of sites such as Facebook is the “social just means people” fallacy. There is an understanding that an online social network is simply a listing of names that randomly interact for fun or because they’ve got nothing more to do, wheras sites like Linkedin have more of a professional objective. I think the effectiveness of any social networking site relies on rallying the network or group around any one object. Facebook is so popular because it unites university students together in the “university lifestyle”, someone can connect with a friend, view his/her pictures and there is a good chance that he/she will see their new friend the next day on campus or at the pub. It’s so effective because there is an online and an offline presence. With these sites its not necessarily about the people themselves, its what they have in common, its about a network of hundreds of thousands of people who are all living (more or less) the same lifestyle.

So what’s not to get about Facebook? The value of the relationships. It’s interesting to see people on facebook with 2000+ friends. It makes me wonder how many of these “friends” are actually friends in the traditional sense. How many of these people could you see on campus and say hello to? What is the actual value of these 2000+ relationships? I truly believe that if someone proposes a friendly relationship based on the knowledge of one’s existence then there is no meaning or value in the relationship. I see a progressive habit of university graduates deleting their facebook accounts, so what can be done to attract these users?

What works best now, and will work best in the future is object-centered sociality. If a social network of people is focused around one goal, united on common ground working towards a similar objective then there will be a true value in these relationships. It’s not about the people, it’s about what they have in common, its about an online and offline presence, its about forming a significant relationship and actually doing something with the relationships that are formed.

Here is my idea of the logical flow of how a social network should work, and how to create meaningful relationships:

Significance creates passion.

Significant relationships are meaningful. People are connecting because of a common purpose and can meaningfully discuss ideas, plans and aspirations. They can form a meaningful network of people focused around a common goal and passionately discuss their interests.

Passion attracts attention.

These passionate discussions/friendships attract the attention of like-minded people. Others involved in the greater network can see these niche groups forming and uniting around common goals, and discussing similar topics. They see the value in the relationships being formed around them and want to be a part of it. They feel the sense of urgency as these passionate people are facilitating relationships beyond the online sphere and are beginning to create an offline presence as well.

Attention leads to action.

These unique networks of like-minded, passionate individuals are acting on their discussions. They have united under a common goal, come together because of one purpose, and are now doing something about it. The relationship began as an online “friendship” but has blossomed into something much more; it is now an offline relationship and is being utilized for the good of each individual.

In the end it’s not about the number of friends you have in a network, it’s about the value of the friendships, the passion of individuals involved and the ability to act.

Learn more about the author, Eric Janssen.

Comment on this article

Posted by Daren Penry, Kirkland, Washington | Jul 30, 2008

Thanks for the enlightening article on social networking. I appreciate the information.

Daren
Posted by Tia Peterson, Erie, Pennsylvania | Jul 30, 2008

Hi Eric, this is a really interesting article and brings a bit of philosophy into the frenzy.

In my line of work I've been exposed to the intense desires entrepreneurs have to get on Facebook (and other networks) and get as many friends as possible, but really it was all with the intention of having a bigger list for marketing purposes.

For a really, really long time, I decided only to use Facebook and MySpace for relationships that were already in existence, so I could preserve the "social" nature of those networks.

Recently I created a Facebook account just for my business yet haven't "worked" it really at all because I don't have time. I would like, to, though.

I'd be interested to see your last three points demonstrated practically through some examples. For example, how does one demonstrate significance and passion through an online social network like Facebook? Unlike Biznik and StartupNation, Facebook isn't really designed to "meet" people and share ideas. It seems like it is designed to simply connect with people you already know.

Thoughts?
Posted by Eric Janssen, London, Ontario Canada | Jul 30, 2008

I think you're absolutely right that Facebook and MySpace in large part facilitate relationships that were already in existence. The new connections made on Facebook beyond those "core 50" so to speak are often friends of friends, friends of friends of friends, etc. I think that what Facebook and MySpace do best is cater to younger crowds who necessarily have the time and energy willing to continue a relationship online, which is not always the case with these new sites.

I'm relatively new to the emerging niche social networking scene but those three points are, what I think might be good to keep in mind when constructing these new sites. It's difficult to find genuinely new people on a site and have meaningful relationships with them unless there is a "rallying cause" like music, sports, or business, and this is what makes these first-adaptors interested - a passion for this "something." This passion, shown by members is contagious and it attracts more and more members to the same spot. The attention then leads to action when users write articles, and blog, and hold events, etc. – essentially giving back to the community.

Facebook does the same thing when you think about it: The significance is already there (from an offline relationship), and it creates passion. It causes users to get excited about being able to stay updated in the lives of their other friends. The passion they show creates attention, and others join (like I did after everyone told me that I "HAD to have Facebook"). The attention then led me to download the widgets, write to friends, attend events, etc. However, if you look at my actions on Facebook, almost all of them are rooted in real life behaviour: "Hey that was a great picture from the game last night," "Are you going to Jackie's party tonight." All my activity is about continuing meaningful relationships online.

What I was trying to articulate wasn't that someone is necessarily trying to show significance and passion on these networks, these are just some of the underlying tenets that make social networking an intriguing phenomenon which I'm still trying to wrap my head around.
Posted by Business Networking, Laurel, Maryland | Aug 01, 2008

You raise some good points Eric. For me the value of social networks is that they allow you to quickly identify people who have interests that interest you, and they give you a convenient way to reach out to those people.

Social networks are a potent tool when used properly, and when wasted, they are like any other resource that doesn't reach its full potential.

That's one reason in my business network we placed such a strong emphasis on educating our community members on how to get the most out of the tools we have created. Knowledge coupled with action is creates power, and so the education component in there is very important.

Thank you for sharing these excellent observations. It was refreshing to see someone express these thoughts.

Where Networking is a "Contact" Sport!
Posted by Bill Quinlan, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Aug 26, 2008

Hey Guys, I just wanted to say what a great article this was, especially with the complementary feedback and interaction (Tia & Business Networking).

There's no doubt that we're in a rapidly evolving time period where technology is now affecting interpersonal relationships on a whole new level. I personally have been riding the wave of the social networking evolution for about 10 years now... and have just recently taken my role to a whole new level.

I have joined a start-up company based in Philadelphia named Anthillz (www.anthillz.com) and we're a social networking site with the goal of showcasing the reputation of our users. Similar to LinkedIn in how the relationships are all professional, but rather than "who you know" (LinkedIn) we are all about "who do you trust and respect".

Anthillz is much more qualitative than many of the other social networking sites out there. Eric and Tia both got my blood flowing when you spoke about "Significance Creates Passion" and Tia how you mentioned how the entrepreneurs that you have worked with want to get on facebook and "blow it up". The two of you spoke about having a core group of "50" friends and the drop-off thereafter... Anthillz is going after that "50", that's our niche. And by being so particular in what we're after, our site will be a much more valuable, portable tool for our users.

I find correlation in what both of you wrote to what we're doing at Anthillz and why we've created this site... to help independent workers differentiate themselves and enhance word-of-mouth for those who depend on it for new business.

This was an excellent article with great feedback and I will be recommending this to my network of trusted colleagues. Thank you Eric and others... you made my day!