Social Networking Reflection

Figure 1. Social Network

Source: https://qds.it/sindaci-siciliani-e-social-network-connessi-e-contenti-ma-attenzione-agli-scivoloni-sul-palcoscenico-del-web/

During the course, we established an online social network through WordPress. In the whole process, I gradually understand the significance of this course. At the end of the course, I would like to share my experience and gains in the last blog, saying goodbye to this course.

1. Knowledge Exchange and Social Network Analysis

In the process of social network establishment, I came to realize the concept of knowledge and knowing in community that the professor mentioned in the first lecture. At the beginning of writing blogs, although I had my own opinions on the issues, all of them are not deep and comprehensive enough. Later, I tried to access my classmates’ blogs for fresh ideas, using comments to exchange different views on the same issue with them. At the same time, some classmates left me helpful and thoughtful suggestions, which effectively pointed out my ignorance and shortcomings.

What impressed me most was that both Luman and I were interested in 4th SDG Quality Education in the second blog, but we analyzed this goal from totally different angles. I objectively proved the importance of quality education from several dimensions, while she elaborated her ideas by telling a story about her friend, which is more persuasive and appealing. I really like the way she expresses herself and the story she experienced. 

Social network analysis reflects my performance in knowledge interaction. The value of out-degree of the node representing me is as high as 15, which means that I am active in the existing social network and highly engaged in comments, actively exchanging knowledge with others. In addition, I also get a lot of feedbacks from my classmates. This feature can be reflected by the fact that the value of in-degree of node representing me reaches 8. However, I found that I am probably not in the center of the social network because the value of betweenness centrality is quite small, just 0.04. This reminds me to focus on expanding my social circle beyond a small one.

2. Comment Feedback and Sentiment Analysis

All of my blogs have received a total of 21 comments since they were published. Using dictionary-based sentiment analysis, I got a score of 0.0424. To be specific, the total number of words involved in the comments reached 1,577, while 87 positive and 20 negative keywords appeared in the dictionary. As a result, I found that most of these comments agree with the points proposed in my blog, which proves that my blog content is valuable. However, there were a few skeptical responses. I gave a more detailed explanation of these questions and denials, which I think is also a great communication opportunity. In this social network, I learned how to use text analysis technology to make emotion judgment, deeply understanding its principle and meaning.

3. Teamwork and Case Study

A meaningful experience for me to remember! In the final group project, I worked with my teammates to complete a case analysis of unemployment, which is related to 8th SDG. We chose this goal based on common interests, Decent Work and Economic Growth. By analyzing the selected case, we fully mastered how researchers apply the knowledge involved in this course to solve SDG issues. What’s more, our team cooperation is really enjoyable!