To construct or to reveal? Network analysis as formalising communication Wigand, R. (1977). Some recent developments in organizational communication: Network analysis - A systemic representation of communication relationships. Communications, 3(2), 181-200. https://doi.org/10.1515/comm.1977.3.2.181

Social network analysis was forged from a need for bottom-up analysis that looked to the specific interactions between individuals rather than a top-down focus on larger abstract social systems. It started via graph theory, progressed through communication and sociology, and now infuses the very platforms we use for modern communication systems. While networks represent a powerful tool, they also have power in their own right as systematising devices. It is not only academics who have learned from networks, but also platform maintainers; Facebook, X, and LinkedIn are all networks of data representing people after all. With advances in modelling and visualisation, we should ask not only what the networks can tell us, but also whether the networks constrain us and our communication. By reviewing Rolf Wigand's 1977 piece "Some Recent Developments in Organizational Communication: Network Analysis - A Systemic Representation of Communication Relationships,"we can reflect both on the advances in networks in the last 50 years but also the consequences of these advances for political polarisation, misinformation, and governance.