Apr 8

Written by: Myra Norton
4/8/2010 5:34 PM

Well, have you had some time to think about those two questions relative to “The Oracle of Bacon”?  I will address the first question tonight and you will just have to click in tomorrow for the second.

 1.        What do the “links” between people mean in this context?

An actor is connected to another actor because they were in the same movie together.  This doesn’t mean that they are friends, nor does it mean that they like each other.  In fact, it may be the case that they have never even met.  Two actors in the same film who don’t share any scenes might never actually be on the set together.  This brings me to a very important aspect of studying human networks:  CONTEXT.  When you look at people who are “connected” to each other, you need to understand the context of those connections.  Think of your own Facebook or LinkedIn profile: my bet is that you are connected to people with whom you have a very close relationship, people whose opinions you trust, and that you are also connected to people you know only superficially.  Context is important, and before we determine that a person is an “influencer” because they are “connected” to thousands of people, we need to look more closely at the context of those connections.

There is another aspect of context that is important when studying human networks – the topic, issue or decision at hand.  I am connected to people whose advice I seek relative to running, others whose advice I seek relative to running a business, still others who I turn to when contemplating the deeper issues of life.  I imagine the same is true for you – the person whose advice you seek when buying a car might be different from the person whose advice you seek on technology for your business.  You get the point – CONTEXT MATTERS.   

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