On improving tie strength estimates by aggregating multiple communication channels

The degree of closeness in a relationship is characterized as tie strength. Estimates of tie strength can be useful in many contexts, including as a parameter in access control policies or social context based services. Several papers have proposed how tie strength can be estimated by quantifying interactions in different individual communication channels such as online social networks, phone communication and face-to-face encounters. It has been conjectured by Wiese et al. [1] that considering only a single communication channel may not lead to accurate estimates of tie strengths. In this paper, we explore this conjecture by examining whether the combination of co-location events and mobile communication data can lead to better tie strength estimations than considering each channel individually. Surprisingly, our results indicate that the conjecture may not be true, but further analysis with more extensive datasets is needed to confirm the result.