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Being a Jerk the Key to Social Networking Success

by Terrence O'Brien on December 9, 2010 at 10:20 AM

mr. t in a flame warThe trick to spurring online conversations, increasing your followers on Twitter and generally drawing attention to yourself online: be a jerk. British and Slovenian researchers have found that provocative, negative comments, or "flames," constitute the engine that drives successful social networking. The researchers monitored comments and conversations on both the BBC and Digg, using algorithms to identify the attitude and emotional content of users with a "happiness score." The research revealed that the length of conversations increased as the happiness score of the comments decreased. Researchers also noticed that instant social groups seemed to organize around a single negative comment at times. Tom Buchanan, a psychologist at the University of Westminster in London, told New Scientist, "Members of an online community might unite around a perceived attack on them or some aspect of their identity."

Of course, if you're not particularly interested in igniting long-winded Facebook flame-wars or stoking the ire of the Twitterati, then Mike Thelwall, of the Statistical Cybermetrics research group, has one topic sure to deter commentary: aging rock stars. So, if you've got a stockpile of anti-Steven Tyler tweets sitting on the back burner, feel free to let 'em fly. Nobody cares.

Tags: bbc, digg, research, social networking, SocialNetworking, top, web

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