I have been keeping an eye on the social networking research that the folks at Columbia have been conducting. I thoroughly enjoyed Duncan Watt's Small World project and his book, Six Degrees: The Science of an Connected Age.
But I was still a little surprised when I saw Peter Bearman's recent research project in Discover Magazine that explored the social network of a high school. As the diagram above shows, the hook-ups and break-ups created network that was less clichish than you might first expect. Well, if they'd known the result before they started, it wouldn't be research.
It makes me think about the social networks that are in play in our planning and design communities. Do the people at the public hearings really share common contacts? Do the seemingly disparate members of the public really have mutual points of reference? Or are they
from different worlds? If I had unlimited time, I would love to try out some social network research on our research realm. For now I'll have to hope that someone else picks up that ball.
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