Cui bono? Who benefits from leveraging information behaviour of their online social connections?

Introduction. The underlying assumption of social, link-based information access posits that individuals engaging in online social networks derive benefits from the information shared by their online connections. This assumption is scrutinised in this study through an examination of the information-sharing behaviour of individual users with their online social connections. Method. This research utilised a large dataset pertaining to books and movies sourced from Imhonet, integrating elements of a recommender system and a social networking service. Specifically, the study incorporated 125,657 books, 44,184 movies, associated ratings, and a social network comprising 234,789 relationships. Analysis. The analysis of user patterns categorised the target users into two distinct categories: those exhibiting sufficiently congruent preferences with their online connections (suggesting the suitability of social link-based information access) and those lacking similar preferences with their connections (indicating potential ineffectiveness of social link-based information access). Results. Subsequent assessments included the analysis of rating patterns and social characteristics of the target users that distinguish the two identified categories, which were examined using binary logistic regressions. Conclusion. This study delved into the dynamics between online users' information-sharing tendencies with their online connections and the diverse user characteristics influencing these patterns.