Review Points

Social Network Foundational Theories
Granovetter
Strong ties
weak ties
Small World Problem
Lois Weisberg
The wisdom of crowds
Wise/Unwise crowds
Dunbar's number
Power Law Theory, 80/20 Rule, Long tail

Anonymity
Trolling
Cyber bullying
Deindividuation
Stanford Prison Experiment
Obediance

Brain Chemistry
oxytocin (love, trust)
dopamine (reward)
reward systems
connections between nodes in-real-life versus online

Asynchronous Communication Criticism
Franzen - too easy, not enough passion, 'to like'
Slacktavism
Keller - Twitter makes you stupid
Turkle - isolation, doesn't build connections; self-editing (aspirational, defensive, malicious)
Gladwell - strong ties are needed for revolutions, SNS protects the status quo

weak ties = info shared
strong ties = action shared

Arab Spring
Tunisia - SNS-heavy
Egypt - SNS crucial at beginning, army needed to succeed
Libya - SNS light
Syria - SNS plays many roles on both sides

Morozov - cyberupotians
York - regimes learn to use SNS

Data

The University of Washington analyzed 3 million treats, gigabytes of YouTube videos, and thousands of blog posts relating to the Arab Spring. Read about it here http://www.washington.edu/news/articles/new-study-quantifies-use-of-social-media-in-arab-spring

Criticism of Gladwell's Position

Here are some editorials attacking Gladwell's critique of social media's role in revolutions.
http://technosociology.org/?p=305
http://www.hyperorg.com/blogger/2011/02/04/gladwell-proves-too-much/

"The Internet Alone Cannot Save the Middle East"

žWhat is the main point of this article? 

žHow are authoritarian regimes adapting to new communication methods?

 
žWhat mistake does Morozov say some dictators have made? 

žWhy is China a ‘textbook example’?

Videos

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/47592620/#47592620

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/twitter-revolution-tunisia-strongman-ruling-leader-12629386

How Social Media Affects the Brain

Here is the source of the infographics I showed in class the other day.

Social Networking & Popular Culture

Essay Assignment

Due: June 1st

Length: 800-1200 words

Submit by paper (in class) or by email (.doc or .rtf only, by midnight)


Choose one recent social movement, like Occupy Wall Street, Kony2012, Anonymous, anti-SOPA activists, or another one of your choice. Analyze this movement in terms of social network theories and compare/contrast the movement with Malcolm Gladwell’s (and other critics’) criticism of social media. Form a thesis and defend it as you analyze the movement. In other words, this is an essay, not a report. Do not simply explain what the movement is and how it works.