Homophily in the Digital World: A LiveJournal Case Study

Are two users more likely to be friends if they share common interests? Are two users more likely to share common interests if they´re friends? The authors study the phenomenon of homophily in the digital world by answering these central questions. Unlike the physical world, the digital world doesn´t impose any geographic or organizational constraints on friendships. So, although online friends might share common interests, a priori there´s no reason to believe that two users with common interests are more likely to be friends. Using data from LiveJournal, the authors show that the answer to both questions is yes.