Abstract

Analyzing the Social Web provides a framework for the analysis of public data currently available and being generated by social networks and social media, like Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare. Access and analysis of this public data about people and their connections to one another allows for new applications of traditional social network analysis techniques that let us identify things like who are the most important or influential people in a network, how things will spread through the network, and the nature of peoples' relationships. Analyzing the Social Web introduces you to these techniques, shows you their application to many different types of social media, and discusses how social media can be used as a tool for interacting with the online public.

• Presents interactive social applications on the web, and the types of analysis that are currently conducted in the study of social media.
• Covers the basics of network structures for beginners, including measuring methods for describing nodes, edges, and parts of the network.
• Discusses the major categories of social media applications or phenomena and shows how the techniques presented can be applied to analyze and understand the underlying data.
• Provides an introduction to information visualization, particularly network visualization techniques, and methods for using them to identify interesting features in a network, generate hypotheses for analysis, and recognize patterns of behavior.
• Includes a supporting website with lecture slides, exercises, and downloadable social network data sets that can be used can be used to apply the techniques presented in the book.

This is the first book that empowers students from across the disciplines to delve into the secrets of social networks. It is a pedagogic masterpiece in which Jen Golbeck demonstrates her research talent and dedication to teaching. -Jennifer J. Preece, Professor & Dean, College of Invormation Studies, University of Maryland

There have been many fine recent publications that attempt to acquaint the reader with the use of social network analysis techniques to understand social media. Analyzing the Social Web stands tall among its peers by being both comprehensive and comprehensible. This book is accessible to a novice in social network analysis and/or social media, but is also an excellent resource for the more experienced.  I am confident that this book will help stimulate a new generation of social network analysis research on social media that will be rigorous, innovative, and relevant.  -Noshir Contractor, Jane S. & William J. White Professor of Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University