Why Social Network Analysis needs to look at the signal to noise ratio
As someone who is a borderline sociopath, I feel confident that I can speak about this subject with some authority.
If you attend to a car accident, the victims who are making least noise are in the most trouble.
If you look at an engine its the alternator that makes the least movement but has the most control.
If listen to a choir the loudest voice is not always the best.
Social Network Analysis is being heralded as a tool that can help managers identify key communicators within their operation, If cost saving they can work out where to cut, if looking for growth they can look where to reinforce.
however …
You simply cannot just look at the volume of communication
But the current bread of social sensory software, or SNA tools cannot distinguish between noise and value.
We all know how the team dynamic changes when someone important (to the team) leaves. Could the SNA measure the amount of problems that these people solve, or create, simply by looking at traffic volume?
The SNA computer program could identify the person who internally promotes a new technique and communicates it to others, But could it find the person who innovated it?
Here is a sample conversation,
Tom: Have you seen that idea that Dick has for making the production line go faster.
Harry: Yeah, its really cool. I don’t know how he does it.
Tom: Dick should be in head office we could do with that kind of innovation in the management team.
A stupid SNA would score like this
Tom -> 2
Harry -> 1
Dick -> 0
If the SNA could semantically understand message content then you would have something of real value, for example
Tom -> 2
Harry -> 1
Dick -> 111 (1 for the mention) (10 for the positive response) (100 for the endorsement)
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