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Calling All Facebook Friends: Exploring Requests for Help on Facebook

Authors

Nicole Ellison,Rebecca Gray,Jessica Vitak,Cliff Lampe,Andrew Fiore

University of Michigan,Michigan State University,University of Maryland,University of Michigan,Facebook, Inc.


Proceedings:

Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media, 7

Volume

Issue:

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2013): Seventh International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media

Track:

Full Papers

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Abstract:

Past research suggests Facebook use is linked to perceptions of social capital, a concept that taps into the resources people gain from interactions with their social network. In this study, we examine a sample of public Facebook status updates (N=20,000) for instances in which users request a response from their network. These attempts to mobilize resources offer insight into the mechanisms through which Facebook is used for social capital conversion. After identifying mobilization requests (N=856), we categorize them by cost (i.e., effort needed to satisfy the request) and type (e.g., opinion, information, social coordination) in order to describe the prevalence of these requests and the extent to which they require effort on the part of the potential responders. Finally, we examine characteristics of these users and the linguistic characteristics of status updates that contain mobilization requests.

DOI:

10.1609/icwsm.v7i1.14436


ICWSM

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2013): Seventh International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media