Advancing online social networking

In Europe, there is a shortage of highly skilled researchers, scientists and engineers who can build IT platforms and infrastructures able to host innovative OSN services and applications. The project ISOCIAL (iSocial: Decentralized online social networks) is helping to overcome this problem by providing top-notch training for a next generation of researchers, computer scientists and web engineers.

Backed by the EU for 4 years to end-September 2016, the training network aims to fund 11 PhD students and 5 postdoctoral fellows. Activities will include the organisation of two intensive post-graduate schools, three workshops, online courses and a final conference.

The consortium emphasises a strong combination of advanced understanding in theoretical and experimental approaches and the methodologies and tools needed to develop decentralised OSN platforms. It also addresses concerns regarding ownership and privacy. Other issues include OSN interoperability and the high cost of maintaining end-user social interactions and data across OSN platforms.

Project research encompasses four interconnected topics: overlay infrastructure for decentralised OSN services; data storage and distribution; security, privacy and trust; and modelling and simulation.

The focus on decentralised services is an important one given that centralised approaches require heavy investment in infrastructure, which creates entry barriers for new service providers and limits end-user choices to just a few market competitors. ISOCIAL is addressing these and other concerns to effect a positive change in the future provision of online social services.

To date, fellows have worked to improve on OSN architectures, data dissemination algorithms, advanced overlay networks, and functionality of OSN services and applications. They have developed various privacy protection mechanisms including algorithms for risk assessment, access control and policy enforcement. Progress includes work on protection from spam and other malicious attacks.

Research has already resulted in 11 peer-reviewed research papers and more information on scientific achievements is available on the project website.

Project work and outcomes are paving the way towards improved networking and enhanced infrastructures providing support for open social networks and applications. The suite of tools to be delivered will support successful distributed OSN services. Overall, project advancements will help to preserve end-user privacy as well as information ownership and address issues of energy efficiency and data lock-in.