Characteristics Of Social Networking Services

Social networking services (SNSs) have recently emerged as a research topic of interest, in line with their commercial success and popularity. They are internet (sometimes mobile) services that have, as a primary purpose, the building and sustaining of users’ social networks. In this article we conduct two analyses. We review the existing literature on social networking software, and we examine the functionality of four leading social networking services: Facebook, MySpace, Second Life, and Twitter. The two analyses are iteratively matched to provide an initial account of six characteristics evident both the in services themselves, and the literature which discusses them. The characteristics help shape the area of study, and can be tested and developed by more rigorous forms of research

A Smart E-Learning System for Social Networking

With the development of Cloud Computing, the popularity of E learning, the increasing of social networking services, Smart Cloud E-Learning System with Social Networking has become a research topic. The characteristics of E learning Cloud and requirements of Social networking services in environments raise a challenge on building an Architecture and Implementation quite strong.  In this paper, we elaborate a Smart Cloud E-Learning System with Social Networking based on architecture level of social networking and E learning cloud system to support E learning interactions in worldwide environments.  A prototype of Cloud E-Learning System with Social Networking is developed on cloud, and several applications features are described based on the proposed architecture to demonstrate the effectiveness of the architecture.DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijece.v4i3.593

The conceptual model of information confrontation of virtual communities in social networking services

Social networking services are one of the most popular mass media and are used as an effective tool for information confrontation due to their functional characteristics. Existing models of information confrontation take into account the redistribution between conflict parties of only one kind of resource, although in the social networking services there is a need to consider additional factors that determine the effectiveness of virtual communities’ opposition. A conceptual model of information confrontation of virtual communities in social networking services has been developed, and it includes three-layer dynamics of the number of actors, growth of information resources of virtual communities and dynamics of spending resources for the confrontation conduct. The model also takes into account the peculiarities of the antagonistic conflict of virtual communities’ actors through the choice of a differential equation that corresponds to the type of its dynamics. The offered conceptual model formalizes the behavior of virtual communities’ actors in the conditions of antagonistic conflict. At the same time, it allows to investigate the peculiarities of using different strategies to carry out the information fight of virtual communities in social networking services, to choose optimal strategies, to predict the development of conflicts in the information space and to develop effective measures to counter threats to the state’s information security

From chunks to clusters: Identifying similarity features in social discussion

Users’ reviews on social media are crucial to understanding users’ interests and their opinions. Although there has been sufficient research on online reviews about products and services, there has been a lack of studies examining online reviews about books. This study extends our earlier work on frequency analysis of review words on online book reviews, which identified users’ interests in discussing books by analyzing the frequency of words users used in their book reviews on a social networking site. This paper intends to investigate whether the frequencies of the review words would represent similarities that would help understand the characteristics of books in selecting books for children. This study performs hierarchical cluster analysis on the selected books to identify homogeneous clusters of cases (books) based on selected characteristics (word frequencies). The finding of this study shows meaningful similarities in the social discussion by clustering books based on the characteristics of books. The results of this study help us understand the specific features of books and user behavior in discussing books on a social networking site. This study has implications for providing practical insights into the intrinsic values of users’ social discussion in identifying similarities among books

Predicting individuals' vulnerability to social engineering in social networks

The popularity of social networking sites has attracted billions of users to engage and share their information on these networks. The vast amount of circulating data and information expose these networks to several security risks. Social engineering is one of the most common types of threat that may face social network users. Training and increasing users’ awareness of such threats is essential for maintaining continuous and safe use of social networking services. Identifying the most vulnerable users in order to target them for these training programs is desirable for increasing the effectiveness of such programs. Few studies have investigated the effect of individuals’ characteristics on predicting their vulnerability to social engineering in the context of social networks. To address this gap, the present study developed a novel model to predict user vulnerability based on several perspectives of user characteristics. The proposed model includes interactions between different social network-oriented factors such as level of involvement in the network, motivation to use the network, and competence in dealing with threats on the network. The results of this research indicate that most of the considered user characteristics are factors that influence user vulnerability either directly or indirectly. Furthermore, the present study provides evidence that individuals’ characteristics can identify vulnerable users so that these risks can be considered when designing training and awareness programs

Perfect weddings abroad

Approximately 16% of UK couples are currently married abroad. However, academic or practitioner focused research that explores the complex nature of a couple’s buying preferences or the development of innovative marketing strategies by businesses operating within the weddings abroad niche sector, is almost non-existent. This exploratory paper examines the role and relevance of marketing within the weddings abroad sector. The complex nature of customer needs in this high emotional and involvement experience, are identified and explored. A case study of Perfect Weddings Abroad Ltd highlights distinctive features and characteristics. Social networking and the use of home-workers, with a focus on reassurance and handholding are important tools used to develop relationships with customers. These tools and techniques help increase the tangibility of a weddings abroad package. Clusters of complementary services that are synergistic and provide sources of competitive advantage are identified and an agenda for future research is developed