identification: social capital
Social capital broadly refers to the resources accumulated through the relationships among people (Coleman, 1988). Social capital is an elastic term with a variety of definitions in multiple fields (Adler & Kwon, 2002), conceived of as both a cause and an effect (Resnick, 2001; Williams, 2006). Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992) define social capital as “the sum of the resources, actual or virtual, that accrue to an individual or a group by virtue of possessing a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition” (p. 14). The resources from these relationships can differ in form and function based on the relationships themselves.
For individuals, social capital allows a person to draw on resources from other members of the networks to which he or she belongs. These resources can take the form of useful information, personal relationships, or the capacity to organize groups (Paxton, 1999). Access to individuals outside one’s close circle provides access to non-redundant information, resulting in benefits such as employment connections (Granovetter, 1973). Moreover, social capital researchers have found that various forms of social capital, including ties with friends and neighbors, are related to indices of psychological well-being, such as self esteem and satisfaction with life (Bargh & McKenna, 2004; Helliwell & Putnam, 2004).
The Benefits of Facebook “Friends:” Social Capital and College Students’ Use of Online Social Network Sites. Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007)
some examples:
http://frontporchforum.com/ forum type of neighbourhood network in US.
http://www.shirky.com/herecomeseverybody/
http://neighbourhoods.typepad.com/neighbourhoods/
interesting reports
http://socialcapital.wordpress.com/2009/06/16/high-turnover-of-close-friends/
books
The Rise of the Network Society: economy, society and culture by: M Castells 2000