Phenomenon and Influential Factors of the Small World at Facebook.com

• Main Authors: Cih-Syuan Yan, 顏慈炫
• Other Authors: Bo-Chiuan Su
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2010
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/61739463152479469278

碩士 === 國立東華大學 === 數位知識管理碩士學位學程 === 98 === Social networking services website (Social Network Service, SNS) lead social activities with a wave of virtualization. While the number of users is rising, its network cluster connection will be more complex. For example, the largest social network site, membership on Facebook had reached 400 million people. In the past, most Sociologists investigated the network range, just focus on small groups, tracing the relationship between each member carefully. The rising of Facebook from social network becomes unprecedented new studying issue. Therefore, there are four main purposes of this study. First, validate the largest social network service site in the world - Facebook.com whether have the small world phenomenon exists. Second, to find what factors will affect individual way of making friends in a particular cluster. Third, find how to identify members with important position to speed up information transmission and connections with members. Fourth, prove whether in different ways to make friends among people to affect the speed and scope of information diffusion. These research issues in the marketing, customer relationship management, economic policy and the proliferation of social movements in such areas are quite important. Few studies have been done to investigate the facebook.com of social network. The study targets focus on users on Facebook in Taiwan. According to opening personal data on Facebook through on and off campus channels, it makes samples variety. We analyze two samples: one is the way through off campus, the largest electronic bulletin board (BBS) National Taiwan University PTT, the questionnaire board and Facebook board to recruit volunteers to take part in and done this research. The other one is through by campus network for the students of National Dong Hwa University college of Management, in the way of convenience sampling to get samples. To sum up, we get 226 samples on and off campus, and add up the number of each of their friends, and then we get a total of 34,681 people, and the formation of 627,804 connection relationships. After collecting data, apply logistic regression to understand which factors in central dimensions and the dimensions of the cluster coefficient impact the way to make friends significantly (non-random or random). The empirical results show the small world phenomenon exists on Facebook. As you have more friends, and the individual closeness and betweenness to the higher degree of function value show easier to make friends through friends. Under the same condition, the value of the individual cluster coefficient shows the same result. Otherwise gender, age, and level of education do not affect significantly to make friends. This research also shows there is no-distance in cyberspace, and relationships still have a considerable of space for development.