Meaning flows in social networks

Most social network research is interested in network structures, ties between people and groups, as well as their characteristics. However, what remains notoriously difficult to research-and therefore has in the past received limited attention-is the meaning that flows through networks and the ties within them. Meaning refers to the explicit and tacit flows in a network that include intent, feelings, signification, symbols, perceptions, and values. In this chapter, I first provide a concise overview of prior research into meaning networks and point out the challenges of such research. I then offer avenues for future research on meaning flows in social networks. In particular, researchers may pay attention to the definition of meaning, how people convey meaning, and what the important boundary conditions might be; the temporal dynamics of meaning flows; and the underlying assumptions, or ontologies, and associated epistemologies that may help researchers to study meaning flows.