What is a social network?

Social networks are collections of people and organizations who are connected to each other in different ways through common interests or affiliations. The glue that holds these networks together is relationship: connections and reciprocity. This can also be called trust.

الشبكات الاجتماعية هي مجموعات من الاشخاص او المنظمات المرتبطة ببعضها بطرق مختلفة تجمعها اهتمامات او انتماءات مشتركة. وما يجعل هذه الشبكات مرتبطة بشكل وثيق هو الاتصال وتبادل المعلومات.. ما يمكن ان يسمى الثقة.

Elements of a Network:

• Nodes: A single entity, person or organization; an individual actor.

• Ties: The connections between people and organizations—a relationship.

• Hubs: People or organizations that have lots of connections, also called influencers.

• Core: Inner cluster of people who do most of the work on any project or effort.

• Cluster: People or organizations that are closely connected to one another, but have few connections to the rest of network. They have strong ties but less potential for the introduction of new ideas and opportunities. Think cliques, where every person knows every other person in the network.

• Periphery or Edge: Living at the edge of a network means you may have looser ties within the network but connections to may disparate networks. It is from the edge that networks grow.

Adapted from Beth Kanter's Introduction to Social Networks:
Smex : http://www.smex.org/   (MADSKILLS)