They remained outside the great social networks of English life, those exclusive clubs that conferred inherited privilege and power and determined your prejudices, associates, and affiliations.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Gertrude Bell'

"What you are seeing is a lot of people who are experimenting with these ideas in trials, and trying to figure out how can we use all of this great new information about social networks to make everybody's life better, " he said.

CNN: Obesity, STDs flow in social networks

College used to be a great equalizer: No matter their parents' social status, students who came to campus tended to deal with basic life skills on their own from frying up grilled cheese sandwiches to unclogging toilets and folding laundry.

WSJ: Forget the Old College Try, Ring the Concierge