1. Viral loop maps

What is the form of social networks? In the May issue of Fast Company there is an interesting diagram that explains the growth model of a social network. The model is based on the number of network users and how it multiplies exponentially over short periods of time, sometimes as much as 4% per day. That is why they call it viral. Each one of the circular units in the image represents a series of connections that originated from a single user (center of the sphere). No two circular units are formally alike since the way connections develop is user-specific: the same system generates an infinite number of different diagrams. This representation of the concept of the double viral loop, based on the premise that each new user begets more users, is inevitably centralized, since it originates in one person (user). The way the starbursts –white points- and the connections –green lines- metamorphose into a whole generates a specific type of porosity, evident as one zooms in. At small scale, when it is hard to separate both components, porosity becomes translucency and the circular units become complex, multi-layered entities.