Social Networks' Sway May Be Underestimated

Facebook, MySpace and other Web sites have unleashed a potent new phenomenon of social networking in cyberspace. But at the same time, a growing body of evidence is suggesting that traditional social networks play a surprisingly powerful and under recognized role in influencing how people behave...

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zara's note: two quote sum up well from this article:

"People quit in droves -- whole groups of people quit together at roughly the same time," Christakis said. "You can see it ripple through a network. It's sort of like an ant colony or a flock of birds. A single bird doesn't decide to turn to the right or the left; the whole flock has mind of its own."