What is the significance and practical significance of the six-degree network theory?

There is a conjecture in the field of mathematics called six-degree separation, and Chinese translation includes the following categories: six-degree separation theory or small-world theory. The theory points out that there will be no more than six people between you and any stranger, that is to say, you can know any stranger through six people at most. This is the six-degree division theory, also known as the small world theory.

meaning

This phenomenon does not mean that any contact between people has to go through six levels, but expresses an important concept: any two strangers can always produce a schematic diagram of the six-dimensional space theory through certain contact methods.

However, contact is still a relationship. Obviously, with the different contact methods and abilities, the opportunities to realize personal expectations will be obviously different. Social network is not profound, and its theoretical basis is "six-degree division". Social software is value-added software and services based on real social networks. There is a story. A few years ago, a German newspaper accepted a challenge to help a Turkish rotisserie owner in Frankfurt find his connection with his favorite movie star Marlon Brando. As a result, after a few months, the newspaper staff found that no more than six people had established personal relationships between them. It turns out that the owner of the barbecue shop is an Iraqi immigrant and a friend lives in California. As it happens, this friend's colleague is the boyfriend of the producer's daughter's sworn sister at the mixer, and Marlon Brando starred in this movie.

value

No matter how profound the theory is, the intimate combination of "six-degree segmentation" and the Internet has begun to show commercial value. In recent years, people pay more and more attention to the study of social networks, and many network softwares begin to support people to establish more mutual trust and close social ties. These softwares are collectively referred to as "social software". For example, blog is a kind of social software. Because of the individuality and persistence required by blog writing, the typical cluster ecological form of blogger circle has become more and more like the interpersonal circle in real life. According to isaac mao, who devotes himself to the research of social software, what is popular abroad now is a tool for making friends or making business contacts quickly, such as LinkedIN. People can find people who are interested in homosexuality around the world more easily, find business opportunities more easily, and reach understanding and communication between different ethnic groups more easily, and so on. There are many definitions of social software, all of which are in the process of continuous development and evolution. Its core idea is actually an effect produced by polymerization. There are countless permutations and combinations of people, society and commerce, and it is easy to get lost if they are not aggregated by information technology. WWW successfully aggregated text and graphics, making the Internet truly applied. Instant messaging brings people together again and produces tools like ICQ. However, this is still virtual. Although virtuality is an advantage of the online world, it is separated from the real name and credit required by the commercial society. Through the aggregation and "six-degree division" between acquaintances, a trustworthy network will be produced, and the commercial potential of this network is indeed immeasurable. As the object of social research, aggregation also has practical value. Scientists at Cornell University have developed an algorithm that can identify the "sudden" growth of some words in an article. These "sudden" growth words can be used to quickly identify the latest trends and hot issues, so it can filter important information more effectively. In the past, many search technologies used a simple method to calculate the frequency of words/phrases, but ignored the increase rate of word usage. If this method is applied to advertisers, we can quickly find the potential demand trend. Social, network, regional, business, blog, sns, you may be numb to these words. However, once those who foresee opportunities discover the commercial value of aggregating these opportunities, it is not just the online world that has been changed.