Skip to the main content
The benefits of Facebook “Friends”: The social capital implications of Facebook-enabled communication practices

The benefits of Facebook “Friends”: The social capital implications of Facebook-enabled communication practices

Nicole B. Ellison, Dept. of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media, Michigan State University

Tuesday, June 7, 12:30 pm
Berkman Center, 23 Everett Street, second floor

 

This talk will provide an overview of research exploring the social capital implications of social network site use. Specifically, I will report on new research that attempts to identify specific Facebook-enabled behaviors that contribute to users’ ability to access diverse perspective, novel information, and social support. This research explores the link between bridging social capital levels and Facebook-related factors such as time on site, the number of Facebook Friends, and a set of behaviors we call “Cultivation of Social Resources.”

About Nicole

Nicole Ellison is an associate professor in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media. Her research explores issues of self-presentation, relationship development, and identity in online environments such as online dating and social network sites. Nicole received her Ph.D in Communication Theory and Research from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California in 1999. Currently she is exploring ad-hoc collaboration in social network sites, for a project funded by the National Science Foundation, and perceptions regarding the acceptability of profile discrepancies in online dating profiles. Her previous research has examined the formation of virtual communities and the ways in which telecommuters use information and communication technologies to calibrate the permeability of their work/home boundaries, as explored in her 2004 book, Telework and Social Change. Her work has been published in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Communication Research, and the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Representative publications can be found on her publications page: https://www.msu.edu/~nellison/pubs.html. Nicole will be a visiting researcher at Microsoft Research New England, working with danah boyd, in the Spring of 2010 and at the Oxford Internet Institute the following Fall.

Links

  • http://tism.msu.edu/users/nicole-ellison

Download media from this event here.

Past Event
Jun 7, 2011
Time
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM