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From Social networks toFrom Social networks toCommunities of practiceCommunities of practice

One study1 has found that happiness tends to be correlated in social networks. When a person is happy, nearby friends have a 25 percent higher chance of being happy themselves.

1James H. Fowler and Nicholas A. Christakis. 2008. "Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network: longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study." British Medical Journal. December 4, 2008: doi:10.1136/bmj.a2338.

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Why social networks ?

◦ How the structure of ties affects individuals and their relationships ?

◦ More open networks, with many weak ties and social connections, are more likely to introduce new ideas and opportunities to their members than closed networks with many redundant ties– Notion of collective intelligence

◦ Notion of social capital – the value that an individual gets from the social network

◦ Issues– Trust– Alter egos– Privacy paranoia, Mass surveillance, Information

Awareness Office (IAO)

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Why social networks ?

◦ Social networks are changing the way in which the web is used, today and will be used, tomorrow– Users generate their own content– The number of published patent applications on social

networks in USA has been growing at about 250% per year over the past five years

◦ Virtual environments for rapid, cost-effective sharing of knowledge and information

◦ Social networks also play a key role in hiring, in business success, and in job performance. – Networks provide ways for companies to gather

information, deter competition, and conspire in setting prices or policies.

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Main opportunities for EURAXESS

◦ Facilitating efficient sharing of knowledge and information within the EURAXESS community. (give boost to the extranet communication)

◦ Promoting EURAXESS services among researchers

– Establish closer, personal contact with mobile researchers

– Benefit from the interaction in acquiring new knowledge, collect experiences

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Facebook Stats (pressroom)

◦ More than 400 million active users

◦ 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day

◦ People spend over 500 billion minutes per month on Facebook

◦ About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States

◦ There are more than 100 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices

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EURAXESS on Facebook

◦ EURAXESS Czech Republic, 36 Likes

◦ EURAXESS - Research in Estonia, 91 Likes

◦ EURAXESS Service Network, 74 Likes

◦ Mobility of researchers and students at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 12 Likes

◦ Ben-Gurion University Euraxess Portal, 11 Likes

◦ EURAXESS BRNO, 2 Likes

◦ EURAXESS 2 Research in Serbia, 216 Likes

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E2RiS Experiences - Demographics

0%12%

56%

24%

6%

2%

13-17

18-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55+

By age By country

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E2RiS Experiences – Page views and referrals

684

377

2530

3803

2543 25812383

1319

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

10-09 11-09 12-09 01-10 02-10 03-10 04-10 05-10

3660

3182

891

512

330222

207187124108

google / organic

(direct) / (none)

mobilnost.rs / referral

basileus.ugent.be / referral

matf.bg.ac.yu / referral

facebook.com / referral

ec.europa.eu / referral

tfc.kg.ac.rs / referral

portal.arh.bg.ac.rs / referral

tfzr.uns.ac.rs / referral

Page views

Referrals to NEP

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Few practical tips

◦ Choose catchy title of the group◦ Put a linked Facebook banner at the website and disseminate

it with a newsletter◦ Post only topics of public interest (do not post meeting

announcements or something like that) and use informal language

◦ Post around noon. Our EURAXESS web site is crowded between noon and 4pm every day, with very low traffic at the afternoon or evening. If you post late afternoon, there is a chance that group members will not see the post since it will be pushed below with other content

◦ Ask your friends (relevant, of course) to "share" the group with their friends