An Algorithm That Helps You Stalk, Er, Meet New People On The Internet
Looking For Friends On Facebook Photo by Andrew Sorensen, CC BY-NC 2.0Ah, the wonders of the intertubes never cease. Always wished you could be friends with your favorite celebrity… at least on Facebook? This new algorithm may help you get there. Researchers in Taiwan, China and the United States have come up with a computer program that lets you choose a target friend on a social network--whether an activity partner, a romantic interest or a work contact--then suggests a series of people for you to friend so that you can send your target an invitation after you've already built up a number of mutual friends. "Why can't I try to do that on my own?" you say. "If I wanted to meet X at company Y, I could start chatting with Z, whose cousin works at Y…" Well, in a test in which researchers pitted 169 people trying to meet...