• A social network is people, organizations or informal groups connected by such social relationships as friendship, co-working or information exchange.
• Brief social network explanation, plus several links.
• good background article

• ego - the focus of a social network.
• status - the position one has in a social network.
• role - the relation one has with another in a social network.

Networks consists of nodes which can be

• individuals
• families
• neighborhoods
• communities
• corporations
• cities
• nations

The linkages between nodes are called relations.

• The United Nations
• The U.S. Government
• The Pac-10
• Oregon State University
• Associated Students of OSU
• The College of Liberal Arts

• Paul Robeson's rise and fall as a US media icon.
• Vernon Jordan's use of social networks
• Media corporation interlocking directorates
• San links to us and others
• The social networks in Samoan culture.