networks

RelayRides and SnapGoods match up owners and renters; smartphones with GPS let people see where the nearest rentable car is parked; social networks provide a way to check up on people and build trust; and online payment systems handle the billing

In a 30-year study of more than 10,000 people, Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School describes how all kinds of social networks have similar effects.

What does the author say about social networks

We should share our social networks with each other.

Even in the age of open-plan offices and social networks some work is best left to the individual.

Most roads, bridges, transit, water systems, the electric grid, and communications networks were installed 50 to 100 years ago, and they are largely taken for granted until they fail.

Other factors may also significantly influence a project’s success, most notably, the size of a scientist’s personal and professional networks, and how much a researcher promotes a project on their own.

Team-building skills are in short supply: Deloitte reports that only 12% of the executives they contacted feel they understand the way people work together in networks and only 21% feel confident in their ability to build cross functional teams.

That is why being self-aware, investing in broader networks of friends, and being open to new ideas will become even more crucial skills.

Both the iPhones and the iPod Touch devices can connect to the Internet through campus wireless networks.

With the iPhone, those networks may provide faster connections and longer battery life than AT&T's data network

The problem relates to the way data is stored on large websites: While your personal computer only keeps one copy of a file, large-scale services like Facebook rely on what are called content delivery networks to manage data and distribution.

But because changes aren't reflected across the content delivery networks immediately, ghost copies of files tend to linger for days or weeks

"Using existing civil society structures or networks is a more effective way of creating change...and obviously trade unions are one of the biggest civil society networks in the UK," he says.

And lower-tier schools can have alumni networks just as strong as their big name counterparts.

In fact, lower-tier school alumni networks are arguably stronger, because fellow alumni recognize that you didn't necessarily have an easy path to follow.

Participation grows through friends and networks and if "you realize that's how they're growing, you can start to take action" and bring in other students, he said.

Wealthy universities talk up the benefits their name will give graduates: namely, strong alumni networks, star faculty, and a resume boost.

Good news beats bad on social networks.

We need to deal with the insecure nature of our telecom networks.

An emerging body of research shows that positive health habits-as well as negative ones-spread through networks of friends via social communication.

first, it is very expensive to set up the computer, card reader, and telecommunications networks necessary to make electronic money the dominant form of payment.

Members of social networks, for instance, are learning that they can hijack media to apply pressure on the businesses that originally created them. 　

They found that the principal requirement for what is called global cascades 一 the widespread propagation of influence through networks 一 is the presence not of a few influentials but, rather, of a critical mass of easily influenced people.