So I’ve been following this discussion regarding the distinctions between social networks and social graphs. Some say there is no difference, and others say there is and that one is the relationships themselves, and the other is a “map”, a representation of those relationships.
Jeez. In the six or seven years I’ve been in the business of connecting people online (not so artfully dodging the use of either phrase) I can’t recall a single instance where either phrase was used, and had the speaker chosen the other, would there have been any loss of meaning or understanding.
IMHO, you can use whatever phrase rolls better off your tongue and not have to worry about being misunderstood – at least for that reason.
Here’s another one: directories and social networks. Whitepages.com is a directory. It’ a big list of names and contact information. Facebook, as a social network, is supposedly much different. I think not.
Facebook, just like Whitepages, is a directory. It’s a directory of some of my friends. (Not all of my friends have fully integrated online social systems into their lifestye, and some of my FB “friends” aren’t friends at all.) The only difference is the activity that makes the list interesting, the exchanges that define that activity, the features coded to enable those exchanges, and the way each directory is monetized.
It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out what activities are central to the directories mentioned, nor the exchanges that support those activities. The features in each make both readily apparent.
Perhaps we should call “useful” lists of names social directories.
Of course, clarifying subtle differences in meaning can be productive and often is. I suspect that when we find differences without distinctions what we’re really uncovering are conflicting emotional states.
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