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Researcher Predicts Your Next Facebook Friend

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the 29-points-of-compatibility dept.

itwbennett writes "Stanford professor Jure Leskovec knows who your friends will be before you've even met them and has won a Microsoft fellowship for his analysis. 'Data shows that who will be our next friend on Facebook is not so random as we think,' he said. Based on information about the personal networks of users and their communication he was able to tell in advance half of the new contacts they would add shortly after. In the future the rate of correctly predicted new friends could be even higher, he said. 'We are able to train the analyzing methods,' Leskovec said."

4 of 66 comments (clear)

  1. Pick-Up Line by steevven1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Hey baby, software predicted that we'd become friends..."

  2. Advertising by slashqwerty · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The obvious application of this is advertising. Every business wants to sell something. If this research tells them how to convince you to friend them they will be all over it. Political organizations will do the same. I have to wonder if the basic concepts have broader applications outside social media.

  3. Hi, this is a Facebook message by Centurix · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We've added these friends to your profile automatically. You were going to add them anyway. You're welcome, because I knew you were going to thank me.

    Love Mark.

    --
    Task Mangler
  4. Re:Feel free to predict mine.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    My Farcebook account URL is /dev/null

    C'mon, surely you can predict my next FB friend; you claimed to be able to do it, after all.

    Idiot.

    Actually, given the above, I think it's pretty easy to predict that you have no friends, nor are you likely to make any anytime soon.