What Are "Social Graphs"?

As social media has risen to prominence, the term "social graph" has received more and more attention from web developers, advertisers, and the general public. In short, a social graph is a data structure that serves as a representation of online relationships. It is essentially a huge web that connects users with "the people, places and things they interact with online" (Dickinson). 

Social media and social graphs are intimately connected to one another. The widespread use of social media makes it an ideal tool to track online connections between users. People use social media to connect with others and share content, which are precisely the things social graphs are concerned with. It has been reported in 2010 that Facebook owns the largest social graph dataset in the world (Wilson). Sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Myspace all have social graphs of their own, but the size and quality of these graphs are dependent on what the users do on their sites. Facebook is the largest social network in the world and they're slowly increasing the scope of the website, which has led to their domination in the social graph category. But still, their data overlaps with what a lot of other sites have. A TechCrunch article sums it up succinctly:

"Facebook knows who you are, what you’re interested in, where you go on the web, what apps you use, and more. However, other companies have bits and pieces of these data sets. LinkedIn knows your resume, Google knows your web searches, Twitter knows who you follow, Apple and Amazon have your credit card number, and your phone’s OS maker knows what apps you’ve downloaded. Who your real-life friends are, though, is Facebook’s domain" (Constine)"

The existence of these social graphs has implications on many different things. For one, it affects our online experience. Sites with detailed social graphs can tailor content toward users more efficiently. That can mean faster searches and improved "suggestions." But it can also mean targeted advertisements. For example, if Facebook can see that you like the New York Knicks, and you recently attended a pick-up basketball event, it's much more likely you'll be fed basketball-related advertisements. If you have 30 friends that like the Knicks, the likelihood of this is further increased. Advertisers will pay more to reach their exact target audience, so social graphs actually have a tangible effect on our economy.

The "open graph", an idea introduced by Facebook, furthers the social graph concept by allowing other sites to access and share their publicly available data (Axon). It essentially opens up the social graph from being site exclusive, allowing public data to be freely shared. This means that a site like Yelp! could use someone's Facebook data to optimize listings, without that user explicitly giving Yelp! that information. Though the open graph has raised serious concerns about online privacy, it's supporters believe it will lead to a more personalized, efficient, and enjoyable web experience. 

Social graphs will continue to become more and more important as the world becomes increasingly internet and social media savvy. In the future, social graphs will likely become some of the most valuable marketing data in the world (if they aren't already). Although privacy is a huge concern for many, and rightfully so, social graphs have the potential to completely change the way individuals experience the internet. 

References:

Axon, Samuel. "Facebook's Open Graph Personalizes the Web." Mashable. N.p., 21 Apr. 2010. Web. 17 Feb. 2014. <http://mashable.com/2010/04/21/facebook-open-graph/>.

Constine, Josh. "Facebook Is Done Giving Its Precious Social Graph To Competitors."TechCrunch. N.p., 24 Jan. 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2014. <http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/24/my-precious-social-graph/>.

Dickinson, Boonsri. "So What The Heck Is The 'Social Graph' Facebook Keeps Talking About?" Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 02 Mar. 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2014. <http://www.businessinsider.com/explainer-what-exactly-is-the-social-graph-2012-3>.

Wilson, Fred. "One Graph To Rule Them All?" A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC. N.p., 11 July 2010. Web. 17 Feb. 2014. <http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2010/04/one-graph-to-rule-them-all.html>.