Peer Influence and Centrality in Online Social Networks

In this paper we investigate the relationship between the social influence of a friend in a personal friend network in Facebook and the centrality of the friend in that network. In a large-scale experiment, we asked 206 volunteers to allow us access to their personal Facebook friend network. We then analyzed these 206 networks and interviewed each respondent about selected Facebook friends from their personal network. The questions captured the social influence of the friend on Facebook. This included elements such as, response to status reports, trust in the person and interaction with the Facebook friend. The social influence of that peer is then related to the centrality of this Facebook friend. To measure the centrality of a Facebook friend, six network centralities were calculated and related to the respondent's statements. The results show a clear connection between social influence and the centrality of a friend in the personal peer network on Facebook.