Hugo Liu (2007). Social network profiles as taste performances. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13(1), 252–275, Blackwell Publishing.
Liu, H. (2007). Social network profiles as taste performances. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 252–275.
@article{liu2007social,
author = {Hugo Liu},
title = {Social network profiles as taste performances},
journal = {Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication},
volume = {13},
number = {1},
pages = {252--275},
publisher = {Blackwell Publishing},
doi = {10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00395.x},
url = {https://starheartsong.com/papers/pdf/JCMC2007-TastePerformances.pdf},
year = {2007}
}Most early social-network research studied the link graph. This paper reads what people placed inside the nodes: books, music, films, and interests used to compose a public self. A grounded-theory reading of 100 profiles identified four kinds of taste statement—prestige, differentiation, authenticity, and theatrical persona—then natural-language processing and principal components analysis examined 127,477 MySpace profiles. The latent maps exposed interpretable cultural oppositions; profiles at both popular and obscure extremes were especially coherent. Users' listed interests were also less like those of their Top 8 friends than chance suggested, although several causal explanations fit that result. The study covers one platform and one period; demographic correlations were inconclusive, and the paper calls for longitudinal, cross-platform, cross-cultural comparison.