Networking diagrams can be helpful to visualize the relationship between entities, but oftentimes in these diagrams, we lose context that would otherwise provide the viewer with significant value. My initial thoughts on the diagram are that there are clear indications as to what songs the group preferred. It’s not a surprise to me that some of the American songs are the most picked. Songs like Track 7: Jonny B Goode and Track 14: Melancholy Blues are likely songs many of us in the class had heard before. These songs likely evoke memories or personal experiences because they are commonly played on the radio and in movies. 

We can see that the less selected songs are outlining the perimeter, as they are not acting as nodes with several connections. Some of the less-selected songs include Track 19: Izlel e Delyu Haydutin by Valya Balkanska. This surprised me as this was actually one of my favorite songs on the records, and one I had never heard of before. Another less-selected track is Track 12: Chakrulo, with only one person adding it to their list. I think this aggregation of data does a good job of representing the number of connections or preferences our class might have for a certain song; however, it does not capture the reasoning for why we selected the songs we did.

Interestingly, this type of data reminds me of a previous software we used at my old university called LitMaps. LitMaps is a platform that produces networking maps that demonstrate how frequently related texts are referenced. This tool is helpful when performing literature reviews, but also in assessing the literary canon (LitMaps). 

References

Litmaps. (2023). About Litmaps. Litmaps. Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.litmaps.com/company