Throng Hints

What is Throng?

Throng is an application which gives you a new way to explore and work with your social networks. Throng creates maps of selected parts of your social networks, which we call throngs. A throng shows you who among your friends, and their friends, matches the selections you make in the left-hand Search column. When you save your favorite throngs, the system will add people who fit in them automatically as your network grows.

What can I do with throngs?

These show both the people to whom you are connected and how you are connected to them. As an example: you could look at all the people in your network who have worked at a company that you are planning to interview with, and who live in the same area. If some of the people you then want to talk with are friends of friends, you can message the intermediary friend, and ask for an introduction.

How can I search my networks?

Type into the Search box. Throng will start showing matches from your network below it. Then you can make selections.

For example: you type “sta.” The selections below include people from Stanford, California, Stamford, Connecticut, and Stanislaus Creek, California, plus people who went to Stanford University, people who worked at Staples, and people who listed “stability” as an interest. Which of these you select is now up to you.

What happens when I save a throng, and why do I care?

First, the app lets you give the throng a name, and then we put it under Throngs, in the Search column, where you can use it any time you want. Second, one of the things that sets throngs apart from other ways of examining social networks is that they are dynamic. This means that as your network grows, more people in your network may match the criteria of a throng you already saved - and the app will add them automatically.

How can I navigate throngs?

The controls above the throng will let you zoom, move, and rotate the map. You can also click an icon to open the map in a full-screen window. When you roll over someone's name, a small box will appear with a brief summary, including the network(s) in which they are connected to you. If you want to see an alphabetically listed view instead, just click the list icon.

Why do some people appear more than once in a throng?

If you know someone from more than one network (i.e. on Facebook and LinkedIn) then you will see each version of them separately. This can be handy, if they keep work and personal time on separate networks.

What if I want to see them only once?

Find and select the identities you want to link under Friends, in the left-hand Search column. A button marked Link will appear above the list. When you click this, the names you select will be linked into a single name.

Can I undo a Link?

Yes, you can do this at any time. Just select the name, and when the Unlink button appears at the top of the column, click it.

I made a set of selections, and there is no throng. What happened?

It is quite simple to do this, as a matter of probability. For example: you may know people who live in Australia, people who were educated at IIT Delhi, and people who play lead guitar. But the probability that you know an IIT-educated lead guitarist in Australia is really small.

If you look at the top bar on the page, above the map, you will see a summary of your selections, with blue delete boxes next to each one. Start deleting selections, until the system finds a match.

How do I start over?

Hit the Clear button, at the top right-hand side of the page.

What is a Throng Score?

The Throng Score is a score which the system attaches to a throng that you have created, based upon your selections. It takes into account both the number of people and the kind of people who appear. It tends to score higher if more of the people who appear have informative profiles, which suggests that they are interesting and well-connected individuals. If most of your social network is people who filled in their name and email, and then wrote “dude!” to round out their profile, you may not see a lot of high scores.