Complexity and Social Networks Blog

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6 May 2007

Clinton v Obama: battle of the fund raising networks

Interesting article in today's Boston Globe about the competition for dollars between Obama and Clinton in Massachusetts. Of particular relevance to this blog is the following quote:

"You don't give to causes, you give to friends," said mystery writer Robert Parker of Cambridge, who contributed $4,600 to Obama. "Larry Tribe asked me to contribute to Obama, and so I did." But Parker added that while he would like to see Obama win the nomination, "I'm not an enthusiastic political supporter of anyone."

This highlights the fact that contributions are, in part, mobilized through social networks of like-minded people. It would be interesting to examine the contribution data as 2-mode network data (candidates x contributors) to see (1) how contributors are connected; and (2) how candidates over time are linked to each other through their contributors.

Posted by David Lazer at 8:44 PM

Wayne Baker on Social Capital and Generalized Reciprocity

Last week Wayne E. Baker of the University of Michigan spoke on "Social Capital and Generalized Reciprocity". This is a belated entry to request reactions to the talk and topic. Here is the abstract he provided for the talk:

"Reciprocity is a human universal. It is the engine of social capital in groups, organizations, and communities. I present results from three pilot studies of generalized reciprocity in organizational settings. Using the Reciprocity Ring™ to collect data on generalized reciprocity, I explore three topics: network evolution, values and positive mood, and the role of pre-existing networks."

Let me briefly elaborate. The key question about reciprocity explored in the talk was why A helps B given that B may not be in a position to help A in the future. Prof. Baker has developed a particular research paradigm (the “Reciprocity Ring”_, in which a group is told to ask for and give help (on anything), where the empirical puzzle is what drives some people to be more helpful than others. In any case, if you were at the talk and reactions to his presentation, or if you had comments about the drivers of “generalized reciprocity,” so defined, please comment here.

Posted by David Lazer at 3:26 PM