I celebrated my birthday a few weeks ago.  This year was a bit different from the other 26 birthdays I’ve celebrated in my life - a larger percentage of my social network (and my strongest ties) are distributed across the country (and around the world).  Even when I was going to school at SI, my family wasn’t near me but a lot of my friends were also in Ann Arbor.  This year, I found it rather interesting the vast variety of ways that my friends and family decided to wish me happy birthday:

  • phone calls
  • comments on Facebook and MySpace
  • emails and e-greeting cards
  • in-person
  • IM (including Andy and Erika “singing” the birthday song via Office Communicator
  • paper cards (via snail mail!)

In most cases, each communication method correlated with the strength of my relationship with the sender.  Communication methods that required the greatest effort (phone, in-person, card) usually signified my strongest ties.  At the same time, not all email or IM birthday greetings were of the same depth.  Some of my close friends sent me lengthier emails, wishing me a happy birthday and updating me on what’s been happening in their lives.  Email threads of this type and more involved IM conversations also correlated with strong ties.  Birthday comments on Facebook and MySpace were usually left by my weak ties (again, there were exceptions), likely because they were reminded of my birthday when they logged in.  I’m guessing my strongest ties either know my birthday or have it marked on a calendar.