Facebook Social Graph using Netvizz & Gephi

   
     Since I used Wolframalpha to analyze my facebook data (by just typing 'facebook' into it) in a minute back in 2012, I found it is really fascinating to make my own social graph using data from my own facebook account and see the connection that I have on facebook. Then, I found a blog called 'Persuasion' by Sarah Joy with a page called 'Using Netvizz & Gephi to Analyze a Facebook Network' about how to easily make a social graph using only two softwares: Netvizz and Gephi.

    - Netvizz allowed you to quickly download (if you do not have that many friends) your facebook data from the website as a gdf file.
    - Gephi will let you visualize gdf file easily with many options to change your own graph.

    I will not go into detail of how exactly to do this because you can find it extensively at the page I mentioned above. But I will tell you of what I found in my own social graph. It made me realize many friends that I used to keep in touch with and how those people are very far in connection with people that I am with now.

Social Graph for Me from Facebook Data

     Now, everyone can see all the connections that I have for my facebook friends (which are almost entire group of my friends since almost everyone has facebook these days). There are some cool features that I found fascinating on this graph that I would like to point out and many more that I cannot explain all.

1. There are 3 distinct groups on the graph (purple one, bright green one, and the rest) which are represented for all my Thai friends which are extremely connected, Asheville School where I went to high school for a year and my friends from University of Chicago. I found that the path that I walked once I was in Thailand is really common such that my friends from elementary school also connect with my high school friends. Everyone does the same thing.

2. There are couple peaks from the big cluster presenting friends that I do not know everyone in that circle, such as friends from Thai college (Chulalongkorn University) that I went there for only a week or friends from astro competition that I met just one week as well. These people are doors for me to find more people that I have not been a part with.

3. The University of Chicago's friends that I have (purple one) are not completely circle like the one from Asheville School because of the disconnection between people within the cluster. There are couple people who are bridging this gap, but they are not everyone so there are some signs left.

4. The biggest three name that I have is P'Boss +Paphon Kiatsakuldecha, N'Wee and N'Swiss simply because they are people who have are part of more than one big cluster in my graph. P'Boss especially connected to every big cluster that I have making him the biggest name on the graph and N'Wee and N'Swiss are Thai who went to Asheville School like me.

5. There are couple connection that I have not realized until I saw this graph. For example, one of my elementary school friends have a connection with one student at University of Chicago.

The biggest cluster in my graph (high school and middle school friends)

     I hope you found this graph and this blog helpful and inspired. Everyone can learn something new from their own social graph. You just have to make one. Feel free to share what new you learned from your graph or any comments below.