Information Technology Capabilities for Digital Social Networks

This paper contributes to the evolving body of knowledge pertaining to the study of digitally-enabled social networks, their usage, and their effects on people, organization, and society. We review the literature on social networks and develop a typology which distinguishes four aspects of digital social networks usage: (i) building and sustaining the network, (ii) observing the network, (iii), extracting the networkpsilas resources, and (iv) disseminating information via the network. The suggested framework identifies several design-related opportunities and challenges, and unveils linkages between usage types. This framework also suggests that future research endeavors could benefit by integrating the perspectives of various online behaviors (e.g., viral communications, identity building, learning, and decision-making) and domains of applications (e.g., shopping, dating, social networking, and money lending).