Description
Excel .Net Map is a social network analysis and visualization plug-in for Microsoft Excel 2007!
This tool is well-suited for identifying patterns in online communities, both at the individual and group levels. It does not have to be used for online data, but can be extended to any data that represent relationships between people or entities. Examples of data that .NetMap can process are:
- posts and replies in forum threads
- "friend" labels in Facebook (or any other social networking community)
- e-mail correspondence
- paper coauthorships
- and many, many more!
Mission:
We want Excel .NetMap to be available to anyone who interacts with online communities, especially researchers and community managers. This tool has the potential to make visualizing community structure, patterns of change over time, and key roles, much easier. One does not need to be a developer / have extensive programming experience to use this tool. We also recognize the ability of many eyes to see what few cannot, and hope that by making this tool widely available we can advance the study and understanding of online communities, both in academia and in industry.
Features:
- One-click generation of vertices (e.g. posters on forums) from relationship dataEasy calculation of basic network statistics (e.g. node degree)
- Visualize your network as a directed graph! (See image above)
- Dynamic Graph window: drag-and drop nodes and edges, right-click functionality
- Multiple visualization options (Rheingold, Circular)
- "Visibility" node/edge feature facilitates selective layouts (for subgraphs or time slices of the network) - great for making sense of large data sets
- Takes advantage of the Excel environment to allow for easy calculation of advanced network statistics (clustering coefficient, etc.)
- Built in functionality for analyzing your own e-mail network
-If you have Windows Desktop Search, and a POP e-mail client such as Outlook or Eudora, .NetMap can scrape the network of your e-mail interactions. Filter this network by date, attachment presence, etc. This is a great network to play with if you're just starting out with .NetMap.
Availability:
- download the .zip file, extract and install. After the installation process completes, you can move the template file (also in the zip folder) into your default templates folder - or just double-click on it to create a new .NetMap template
System Requirements:
- Windows XP or Vista
- Microsoft Office 2007
- Windows Desktop Search (optional, for analyzing your e-mail network)
Slides:
- 2008 - dotNetMap - Social Network Tools for Excel.ppt Download and enjoy!
Key Takeaways
1) Different people in communities: roles
2) Different kinds of communities
3) Visualization is key for analysis
