Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives Audio CD – Abridged, Audiobook, Unabridged
by Nicholas A. Christakis (Author, Reader), James H. Fowler (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars 105 customer reviews
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Harvard professor and health care policy specialist Christakis (Death Foretold: Prophecy and Prognosis in Medical Care) became interested in social connectivity when observing that the mortality rate of spouses spike after a partner passes away. Christakis sought out a collaboration with Fowler, a health systems and political scientist, and together they compare topology (the hows of a given structure) across different social networks to better explain how participation and positioning enhances the effectiveness of an individual, and why the "whole" of a network is "greater than the sum of its parts." Five basic rules describe the relationship between individuals and their networks-including mutual adaptation, the influence of friends and friends' friends, the network's "life of its own"-but the results do more than promote the good of the group: they also spread contagions; create "epidemics" of obesity, smoking and substance abuse; disseminate fads and markets; alter voting patterns; and more. A thorough but popular take on a complex phenomenon, this volume offers an entertaining guide to the mechanics and importance of human networking. 13 b/w illustrations, 8-page color insert.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Christakis and Fowler have written the book on the exciting new science of social networks. CONNECTED could change your life forever. How? Read it yourself and find out." (Daniel Gilbert, bestselling author of Stumbling on Happiness )
"In a category of works of brilliant originality that can stimulate and enlighten and can sometimes even change the way we understand the world." (The New York Times )
"Groundbreaking." (Kirkus )
"An entertaining guide to the mechanics and importance of human networking." (Publishers Weekly )
"Engaging and insightful...sure-to-be a blockbuster...Connected succeeds in connecting with its audience." (SeedMagazine.com )
"Illuminating...The authors excel at drawing out the devil in the detail. Connected has profound implications." (New Scientist )
"Intriguing." (SmartMoney.com )
"Connected explores the startling intricacies of social networks." (O, The Oprah Magazine )
"Could well be one of the most important works of the decade. Full of fascinating stories and examples. A must read." (Ed Diener, Joseph Smiley Distinguished Professor of Psychology University of Illinois and author of Happiness )
"In a social world exploding with new ways to interact, Connected is a user's guide for ourselves in the 21st century." (Dan Ariely, James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics and author of Predictably Irrational )
"A God's-eye view of social relationships that may make you dizzy. Every business leader, teacher, and parent should see their life from this vantage." (Chip Heath, coauthor Made to Stick )
"A lively, well-written account of social networks and their power to shape our lives. The world becomes smaller and more meaningful after reading this engaging book." (Sudhir Venkatesh, author of Gang Leader for a Day )
"The possibility that we all participate in one mind challenges religion, philosophy, and the meaning of life itself." (San Francisco Chronicle Deepak Chopra )
"[In a category of] works of brilliant originality that can stimulate and enlighten and can sometimes even change the way we understand the world." (The New York Times )
"A clever, cogent, and enjoyable look at the latest thinking about humans in community. It provides a swath of important research in one place for readers and makes it a stimulating read."
(Michael Fitzgerald, Boston Globe )
Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives Audio CD – Abridged, Audiobook, Unabridged
by Nicholas A. Christakis (Author, Reader), James H. Fowler (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars 105 customer reviews
---------
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Harvard professor and health care policy specialist Christakis (Death Foretold: Prophecy and Prognosis in Medical Care) became interested in social connectivity when observing that the mortality rate of spouses spike after a partner passes away. Christakis sought out a collaboration with Fowler, a health systems and political scientist, and together they compare topology (the hows of a given structure) across different social networks to better explain how participation and positioning enhances the effectiveness of an individual, and why the "whole" of a network is "greater than the sum of its parts." Five basic rules describe the relationship between individuals and their networks-including mutual adaptation, the influence of friends and friends' friends, the network's "life of its own"-but the results do more than promote the good of the group: they also spread contagions; create "epidemics" of obesity, smoking and substance abuse; disseminate fads and markets; alter voting patterns; and more. A thorough but popular take on a complex phenomenon, this volume offers an entertaining guide to the mechanics and importance of human networking. 13 b/w illustrations, 8-page color insert.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
----------------
"Christakis and Fowler have written the book on the exciting new science of social networks. CONNECTED could change your life forever. How? Read it yourself and find out." (Daniel Gilbert, bestselling author of Stumbling on Happiness )
"In a category of works of brilliant originality that can stimulate and enlighten and can sometimes even change the way we understand the world." (The New York Times )
"Groundbreaking." (Kirkus )
"An entertaining guide to the mechanics and importance of human networking." (Publishers Weekly )
"Engaging and insightful...sure-to-be a blockbuster...Connected succeeds in connecting with its audience." (SeedMagazine.com )
"Illuminating...The authors excel at drawing out the devil in the detail. Connected has profound implications." (New Scientist )
"Intriguing." (SmartMoney.com )
"Connected explores the startling intricacies of social networks." (O, The Oprah Magazine )
"Could well be one of the most important works of the decade. Full of fascinating stories and examples. A must read." (Ed Diener, Joseph Smiley Distinguished Professor of Psychology University of Illinois and author of Happiness )
"In a social world exploding with new ways to interact, Connected is a user's guide for ourselves in the 21st century." (Dan Ariely, James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics and author of Predictably Irrational )
"A God's-eye view of social relationships that may make you dizzy. Every business leader, teacher, and parent should see their life from this vantage." (Chip Heath, coauthor Made to Stick )
"A lively, well-written account of social networks and their power to shape our lives. The world becomes smaller and more meaningful after reading this engaging book." (Sudhir Venkatesh, author of Gang Leader for a Day )
"The possibility that we all participate in one mind challenges religion, philosophy, and the meaning of life itself." (San Francisco Chronicle Deepak Chopra )
"[In a category of] works of brilliant originality that can stimulate and enlighten and can sometimes even change the way we understand the world." (The New York Times )
"A clever, cogent, and enjoyable look at the latest thinking about humans in community. It provides a swath of important research in one place for readers and makes it a stimulating read."
(Michael Fitzgerald, Boston Globe )
"An intellectual but accessible approach. The authors make a persuasive case for the power of social networks to affect everything and everyone." (Business Week ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Product details
Audio CD
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Abridged edition (September 29, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0743579100
ISBN-13: 978-0743579100
Product Dimensions: 6 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars 105 customer reviews
"An intellectual but accessible approach. The authors make a persuasive case for the power of social networks to affect everything and everyone." (Business Week ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Read less
See all Editorial Reviews
Product details
Audio CD
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Abridged edition (September 29, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0743579100
ISBN-13: 978-0743579100
Product Dimensions: 6 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars 105 customer reviews
Customer reviews
Top customer reviews4.0 out of 5 starsFascinating Information
ByGrant FritcheyVINE VOICEon May 15, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
The premise of the book is pretty simple. You have close friends and acquaintances. Your close friends and acquaintances also have friends and acquaintances, that may or may not over lap with yours. Those people also have another set of friends and acquaintances. And here's the kicker, that third layer, not your friend, or your friend's friend, but your friends friends friend can affect your daily mood, the amount of exercise you do, whether or not you smoke, your involvement in crime, all sorts of things. The book sets out to prove it. Along the way you also learn about things like why you probably only have somewhere between 3-8 close friends. Why you probably don't have more than about 100 people that you communicate with regularly (uh, but what about my 7,000+ Twitter followers?). How these are to a degree biological factors hardwired into you. Most interesting of all is how the ripples just fade away at the third layer, over and over again throughout their studies and their testing.
The book was just filled with highly interesting facts about how your network influences you. Also, how you can influence your network. It also matters the type of network that you have. Are you connected to lots of people that aren't connected to each other, weak ties, or are you connected to lots of people that are all connected to one another, strong ties. Each of these types of networks influences you differently. Your behavior within a network is probably following one of three paths; cooperator, you're willing to help others, free rider, you're letting others do the heavy lifting, enforcer, you're making sure everyone follows the rules. Your behavior is also likely to shift between those roles depending on who you're interacting with and when.
In short, a fascinating book. I do have a nit to pick with it though. At the end of it all, I have a great set of information about what a strong network would look like. I get a good sense of why I would want to have a strong network. Nothing about how to really get a strong network other than making sure my friends are connected with my friends and that my friends, and as much as possible their friends and their friends, are all on a positive path. Right. I'm sure that's easy to work out. Guidance around this network thing would have been nice.
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5.0 out of 5 starsHow and why our connections to other people matter more, much more than any other connections do
ByRobert MorrisHALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICEon November 15, 2013
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
I read this book when it was first published in 2009 but am only now getting around to re-reading and then reviewing it. Since then, the nature and extent of social media have expanded and extended far beyond anything that Tim Berners-Lee could have imagined twenty years ago when he developed his concept of the worldwide "web" of electronic connection and interaction while working as an independent contractor the for European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Currently he is the director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Presumably Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler, co-authors of Connected, are amazed by the growth of networks of various kinds since they published their book.
As they observe in the Preface, "Scientists, philosophers, and others who study society have generally divided into two camps: those who think they are in control of their destinies, and those who believe that social forces (ranging from a lack of good public education to the presence of a corrupt government) are responsible for what happens to us." They think a third factor is missing from this debate: "our connections to others matter most, and by linking the study of individuals to the study of groups, the science of social networks can explain a lot about human experience." I agree.
This book is the result of what Christakis and Fowler have learned thus far from their research and I think they make a substantial contribution to a discussion of a question that has continued for several thousand years: "What makes us uniquely human?" They remain convinced that to know who we are, we must first understand how we are connected.
These are among the dozens of business subjects and issues of special interest and value to me, also listed to indicate the scope of Christakis and Fowler's coverage.
o Rules of Life in the Network (Pages 16-26)
o Emotional Contagion (37-40)
o The Spread of Happiness (49-54)
o Big Fish, Little Pond (71-75)
o Dying of a Broken Heart? (81-86)
o Changing What We Do, or Changing What We Think? (112-115)
o Moody Markets (148-153)
o Three Degrees of Information Flow (153-156)
o Networking Creativity (162-164)
o Real Politics in a Social World (184-187)
o The Network Architecture of Political Influence (202-204)
o The Ancient Ties That Bind (213-217)
o Networks Are in Our Genes Too (232-235)
o A Brain for Social Networks (240-243)
o The Human Superorganism (289-292)
As some of these subjects suggest, there are striking similarities between the nature and extent of connections within the human brain and those that occur within social organizations such as Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. I eagerly await breakthrough insights in months and years to come that increase our understanding of metacognition even more.
During a conversation near the conclusion of the book in the Reading group Guide, Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler are asked this question: "What particular aspects of social networks are you currently researching? Is there anything exciting coming to light?" Their response:
"We are especially intrigued by the idea the idea that evolution may have shaped the networks humans form with one another, and we think this might give us a clue about some important questions: Why do we help each other so much compared to other species? What is the reason for the spark in love at first sight?"
Stay tuned....
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4.0 out of 5 stars"We are unconsciously led by the people around us." (From back cover)
ByAnthony Bosnickon September 24, 2016
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
I found this book quite interesting. It was not easy to read but interesting enough to keep me engaged. The numerous illustrations very helpful in understanding the points being made in the book about the impact of relationships being interconnected and the impact that this has on our lives and decisions.
Also, the point made by the authors about the impact others have on us and the impact we have on others was intriguing, especially that "You do not have to be a superstar to have this power. All you need to do is connect" (p. 305). Our connections can thus either help promote or degrade the common good. How important it is to know that we can make the world better through our connections with others promoting things of value such as truth, beauty, and justice (those traits upheld by the Greeks). There is value in building community.
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5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent book on networks in the real world
ByARGon May 5, 2017
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
Excellent book on networks in the real world. Basic concepts explained in reader friendly way, but enough meat to satisfy a more curious reader. As a student of complex systems, I was familiar with most of the examples but still some new stuff too. Also, the chapter structure drew some excellent comparisons and made an excellent narrative. Big thoughts will ensue for anyone reading this. Makes you look at the world around you in a new way.
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