3 Types of Social Networks

There are three fundamental social network models, says David Reinhardt, a technologist working for BSG (UK). Google+ is trying to incorporate both the "one way" Twitter model and the "two way" Facebook model.

Facebook uses a two-way architecture where friend requests have to be accepted before A can connect with B. Twitter uses a one-way architecture where A can choose to read and engage with B, but B does not necessarily have to reciprocate.

Google+ allows either architecture to be supported. Google’s argument is that catering for both scenarios in a single Web service is more reflective of real life.

Understanding connections across social networks