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Social networks that matter

A new paper released by the Social Computing Lab of HP Laboratories discusses the core social network beneath the web of friends and followers a person may have across many social media sites.

By studying over 300,000 Twitter accounts they developed some parameters of what defines a friend as opposed to a follower or followee: in this case to become a friend two posts had to be directed to another user.

Not one to give away the ending I highly recommend you give the paper a read. For you non-academics out there the writing is digestible albeit dense and worth the time invested.

Social networks that matter: Twitter under the microscope
Bernardo A. Huberman1 , Daniel M. Romero1,2 and Fang Wu1
http://www.hpl.hp.com/research/scl/papers/twitter/twitter.pdf

Online content now eligible for Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize board announced today that they are now accepting online material as eligible to win in any of the 14 Pulitzer Prize categories.  The Board stated that submissions “should come from United States newspapers or news organizations that publish at least weekly, that are ‘primarily dedicated to original news reporting and coverage of ongoing stories,” and that “adhere to the highest journalistic principles.’”  

This frees online publications from the 2006 constrictions of the Pulitzer Board when some online content was allowed in a few categories.

One more step in recognition for bloggers.  I look forward to the first blogger win in any category.