Patent ID: 8473422

Claim:
A method comprising: retrieving, using one or more processors, a strongly connected component value, an in-component value, an out-component value, a disconnected component value, a tendril value, and a tube value of a social network for a time period; the strongly connected component value quantifying a number of strongly connected vertices where, for each strongly connected vertex, there is a first path from a first vertex to a second vertex and a second path from the second vertex to the first vertex, the first vertex and the second vertex corresponding to a first user and a second user, respectively, who act as buyers and sellers in transactions between themselves in the social network; the in-component value quantifying a number of in vertices, each in vertex corresponding to a third user who acts as a seller to the first user; the out-component value quantifying a number of out vertices, each out vertex corresponding to a fourth user who acts as a buyer from the second user; the tube value quantifying a number of tube vertices, each tube vertex being between the third user and the fourth user that do not include the first user and the second user; the tendril value quantifying a number of tendril vertices, each tendril vertex being a buyer from the third user or a seller to the fourth user but have not conducted a transaction with the first user or the second user; the disconnected component value quantifying a number of vertices that are not quantified by the strongly connected component value, the in-component value, the out-component value, the tendril value, or the tube value; calculating, by the one or more processors, a social strength of the social network for the time period by applying a weighting factor to each of the strongly connected component value, the in-component value, the out-component value, the disconnected component value, the tendril value, and the tube value and summing the weighted values; and utilizing the social strength of the social network for the time period for analysis of the social network, wherein the strongly connected component value has the greatest weight and the disconnected component value has the lowest weight.