3Social Capital from Networking Online

The online social graph reaches far beyond technology and media. It is one of the most significant sociocultural phenomena of this decade. By inventing more casual modes of interaction and thereby making possible new categories of lower-commitment relationships, social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn are fundamentally changing how we live, work, and relate to one another as human beings.

One important way the online social graph is manifesting itself in the sociology of business is in facilitating the accumulation of social capital.

As individuals, we have two sources of personal competitive advantage: human capital and social capital. Human capital, which includes talent, intellect, ...

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