Assessing the Structural Correlates between Friendship Networks and Conversational Agency in Facebook Groups

Examines how pre-existing friendship ties structure conversation within Facebook groups, finding that network position shapes who speaks and who is heard. Platform-mediated group dynamics don't simply mirror offline social structures but instead create new patterns of conversational agency where structural position in the friendship network amplifies or dampens voice.

Demonstrates that who speaks in Facebook groups is structured by pre-existing friendship networks, not just by topical interest or individual motivation. The finding that conversational agency is a network property challenges the assumption that open platforms create equal voice, revealing instead that existing social structure reproduces itself through the platform.