Online SNA

In response to a recent post* of mine on SOCNET, Valdis Krebs reminded me of an article he published back in 2002: "Uncloaking Terrorist Networks", First Monday, 7:4 (April).

Using only publicly available online sources, Valdis mapped a network centered on the 9-11 hijackers:

What I find most interesting about this is not the map itself, but that virtually anyone with sufficient gumption (and basic SNA training) could develop similar maps for virtually any group or institution.

I've always found Lombardi's work absolutely compelling, even without seeing the materials on which he based his maps. Imagine being able to embed archival and online sources to the nodes and links.

* SOCNET 07-13-06:

"...where are the texts focusing on current means of gathering SNA data? It would seem that the "realm of the possible" has shifted somewhat dramatically over the past few years, though certainly not for all forms of SNA data. It's clearly not just about surveys anymore.

"There are several excellent texts on SNA analytical methods, but I've found that data gathering techniques seem to be treated rather sporadically. As someone keenly interested in expanding SNA into a field (political science) where it is still rarely applied, I would be very interested in a textbook focusing on the techniques, challenges, and possibilities of generating a wide variety of network data."