The Google Number: How Influential Are You?

Google has a patent pending on a technology it says will rank the most influential people on social networking sites. Although details are sparse, it’s reported that the system would work similarly to Google’s PageRank ( the algorithm for determining which Web sites appear in a list of search results). By understanding these social patterns, it’s hoped that advertising on social networks can be made more relevant and profitable. BusinessWeek reports: The new technology could track not just how many friends you have on Facebook but how many friends your friends have.