Polysocial reality, a concept that explores the intertwining of online and offline social realities, is gaining traction. The concept argues that online and offline realities are not separate but interconnected, forming a complex, multi-layered social reality.
Visualising this reality is challenging due to its dynamic, ever-changing nature. A new approach, using a combination of social network analysis and multiple correspondence analysis, offers a solution. This approach allows for the visualisation of polysocial reality in a way that captures its complexity and fluidity.
The approach involves two steps. First, data is collected from various online and offline sources to create a ‘social space’. This space is then analysed using multiple correspondence analysis, a statistical technique that identifies patterns and relationships within the data.
The result is a visual representation of polysocial reality that captures the interplay of online and offline social realities. This visualisation can be used to gain insights into social behaviour, relationships, and dynamics. It can also be used to identify trends and patterns, and to predict future social behaviour.
Despite its potential, this approach is not without challenges. The dynamic, fluid nature of polysocial reality means that visualisations are only snapshots of a particular moment in time. Furthermore, the approach relies on the availability and quality of data, which can be a limiting factor. Nonetheless, the visualisation of polysocial reality opens up exciting new possibilities for understanding and navigating our increasingly interconnected social world.
Go to source article: https://web.archive.org/web/20140207061427/http://jitso.org/2012/12/03/visualising-polysocial-reality-revised/