Teslas and Tie Strengths
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/09/29/youtuber-david-dobrik-gives-away-teslas-to-followers-to-encourage-voter-registration/#3fe1151d4041
Imagine you just woke up and saw the following news flash on your phone: “YouTuber giving away free cars.” You would probably think it’s a scam of some kind and dismiss the news. Now, imagine if that YouTuber is David Dobrik, and those free cars? Imagine those free cars are Teslas. Well, stop imagining because this particular news flash is actually a reality. That’s right, famous YouTuber David Dobrik is hosting a free Tesla giveaway, which will end on October 4, 2020. A few days ago, Dobrik uploaded a new post on his Instagram in which he posed with five identical, white 2020 Tesla Model 3s. In the post’s caption, Dobrik described how he has partnered with the nonprofit organization HeadCount to increase voter participation in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Also, Dobrik detailed the exact requirements of the giveaway: tag a friend in the comments of the post; share the post to your Instagram story; and verify you are registered to vote on HeadCount’s website. If you satisfy the requirements, you have a chance to win one of the five brand new Tesla Model 3s.
We can connect this giveaway to the concept of links, or ties, in a social network. Typically, all links in a social network are either classified as strong ties or weak ties. On on hand, strong ties refer to the stronger links in a social network, which includes family and friends. On the other hand, weak ties refer to to the weaker links in a social network, which includes acquaintances. While the main function of this giveaway is to offer people the chance to win a brand new Tesla and increase voter turnout, it also has one more purpose: promote new social connections and expand individual social networks. For example, by sharing Dobrik’s post on your Instagram story, you are forming weak ties with acquaintances and other individuals who you may not personally know. In addition, by tagging your friends in the post, you are forming strong ties with them. Moreover, if two strongly connected friends tag mutual friends in Dobrik’s post, then more ties are formed. This idea of two friends tagging a mutual friend and forming new ties is an example of the Strong Triadic Closure Property.