Jonathan, I haven’t read The Drunkard’s Walk but that sounds interesting too. Thanks!

All great points you make! I don’t even know where to begin, except to say that those are issues that I’d like to address. I guess one can do them in sequence since they are somewhat distinct (and possibly build on each other)?

So stay tuned, and thanks again

Some questions:

1. Are there common categories/keywords that describe well at least some of these directions? it might be easier to mention known sub-fields and relate to them explaining how your focus differs or adds on them. I guess you don’t want to place it in predefined boxes right now, but it helps give context and understand what existing work you’re building on.

2. I think a natural major question to ask would be - why (or even whether at all) are friends, or people I know, more relevant to those processes than total strangers who are also on that social web. Perhaps in the physical world I’m interacting with such people because they are the ones I have access to, but on the web I can access others almost just as easily (here - I contacted you without knowing you). The question is emphasized when you talk about weak ties too. Is this perhaps answered in the citations you mention?

3. I feel that I’m somewhat missing more direct mentions of what can now be achieved, that was not possible before. Seems to me like you focus more on how we can (or not) make up for the non-digital social interactions that we lost, but there is also a flip side, of course, that may be very different from the “old” habits.

BTW - I suppose you’re familiar with Microsoft Research’s U-Rank - if not, have a look…

Good luck!

It’s been enlightening to share some experiences with you these past few days. I have never tried to implement a social search engine—I don’t know what the technological challenges are, but they will be important for me to consider in my work. Thank you!