ebooks logo journals logo reference works logo abstract databases logo
bullet  SIGN IN Register | Why Register? | Got a Voucher? alerts   marked lists   shopping cart 

informaworld

HOME   |   SEARCH   |   BROWSE
    Issues List       Latest Issue       Forthcoming Articles       Volume 12 Issue 3       Subscribe       Article       References       Related articles      
<< firstfirst   < prevprev   Table of contentstoc   next >next   last >>last
Publisher Logo Publication Cover
Search within this journal

TUNES THAT BIND? 

Predicting friendship strength in a music-based social network 

Authors: Nancy K. Baym a; Andrew Ledbetter b (Show Biographies)
Affiliations:   a Department of Communication Studies, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
b School of Communication Studies, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA
DOI: 10.1080/13691180802635430
Publication Frequency: 8 issues per year
Published in: journal Information, Communication & Society, Volume 12, Issue 3 April 2009 , pages 408 - 427
Formats available: HTML (English) : PDF (English)
You have: FREE ACCESS FREE ACCESS
Article Requests: Order Reprints : Request Permissions


Abstract

Despite the popularity of social network sites based on common interests, the association between these shared interests and relational development is not well understood. This manuscript reports results of an empirical investigation of interpersonal relationships on Last.fm, a music-based social network site with a multinational user base. In addition to baseline descriptors of relational behavior, the chief goals of this study were to examine the degree to which Last.fm relationships are characterized by homophily (and particularly by shared musical taste), the extent to which communication via Last.fm is associated with other forms of communication (both offline and online), how such communication behavior is associated with demographic and relational characteristics, and whether these variables predict strength of relational development. Results indicate that although Last.fm relational partners exhibit shared musical taste, this shared taste is not associated with relational development. Rather, following media multiplexity theory, relational development is strongly and uniquely associated with communication behavior across almost all forms of communication (including Last.fm). These results suggest that shared interests may foster the creation of weak ties, but conversion of these connections to strong ties is relatively rare.
Keywords: Communication studies; computer-mediated-communication; media studies; Web 2.0; social networking; popular culture
view references (45)
Bookmark with:
  • CiteULike
  • Del.icio.us
  • BibSonomy
  • Connotea
  • More bookmarks
Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Accessibility | RSS
FAQs in: English . Français . Español . 中文(简体和繁體)
© 2009 Informa plc