This post started innocently enough – wondering whether there is really any difference between a social network and a social graph (apparently it’s a matter under debate). The distinction isn’t made any easier by the fact that the entry for “social graph” on wikipedia forwards to the social network page, while the one for “social graphs” (plural) has its own entry.

To make a long story short, social graphs seem to offer more precision on the kind of social network you’re talking about – one network might include colleagues, and another could refer to school friends etc. A social network, on the other hand, doesn’t really discern amongst these different networks and how they’re related – they’re all just part of one big social network. And while that sounds like a lot of hand waving around definitions, it does open up an interesting can of worms when you start thinking about how to manage your social network. Managing a social network (where all friends are treated the same) can get a little awkward if you have coworkers and your [insert closet group of friends here] all sharing the same space.

And while we can give credit to Facebook for popularizing “social graph” as a term, the reality is that they’re still just a social network. I can’t (correct me if I’m wrong), for example, set up 10 different privacy/access profiles that differ by the particular group of friends I’m talking about. Facebook (today) does not really enable social graphs.

Now, I’m really nitpicking of course, because that’s virtually certain to change as facebook takes its great new friend list management features and starts to leverage them in managing the social graph. Facebook virtually says as much when they advise that we can, “expect to see lots of new friend list features in 2008 that will give you more control over the information you share on Facebook and who you share it with.”

So get ready for the social network to social graph transformation. That’s exciting because those social graph features are critical to unlocking new potential from social applications. Friend lists that specify access controls (for people and applications) will make facebook interactions a whole lot more relevant.

That has real implications for the value of social networks. That’s because Metcalfe’s law doesn’t enumerate network value very well, bigger networks aren’t always better. Anyone whose encountered spam in their inbox, dealt with telemarketers, or had to yell to make themselves heard at a party, knows that larger networks introduce their own set of problems. Value in social graphs comes through having enough control to obtain better signal to noise ratios from your networks. Value isn’t just limited to enabling conversations with those you want to talk to, it can also come from preventing unwanted conversations. Once Facebook and others deliver that control (by enabling true social graphs), the world of social applications will get a whole lot more interesting and useful.