The role of gender in social conversations has attracted the interest of scholars for decades (Leaper & Ayres, 2007; Leaper, 2014; Maltz & Borker, 1982). A meta-analytic review of studies found strong evidence that men produce a more domineering and assertive discourse style in line with their perceived social status and competitive nature, while women’s discourse style is more often characterized as affiliative and supportive (Leaper & Ayres, 2007). In light of the central role of online social networks in contemporary society, recent studies have moved to examine whether such traditional gendered discourse patterns persist in online social network environments or whether online social networks are a “game changer” (Brandtzaeg, 2015; Joiner et al., 2014, 2016). This study aims to contribute to studies of gendered discourse on online social networks via a social network analysis of gendered discourse using TheMarker,1 an online social networking site operated since 2007 by Haaretz, a prominent Israeli news outlet. While previous studies of online gendered discourse patterns mostly used surveys (e.g., Joiner et al., 2014) or experiments to examine how men and women respond to messages (Joiner et al., 2016), the social network analysis method used in this study allows a deeper examination of the connections between members in a real social network environment and on a much larger scale than most alternative methods (Hayat & Lyons, 2010; Lesser, Hayat, & Elovici, 2016; Onnela et al., 2007; Szell & Thurner, 2013). Indeed, as noted below, the TheMarker Caf
e community includes over 100,000 members, and over 1.7 million links, allowing a large scale and wide perspective on the issue. The social network analysis method also makes it possible to identity the online network structure and thus illuminates not only the gendered discourse patterns but also the characteristic features of the network environment and their potential impact on community members’ gendered discourse patterns. In contrast to previous studies of gendered discourse that did not address network structure, our analysis maps the link between network structure and the gendered discourse patterns within the network. Traditionally, it has been argued that certain network positions within offline social networks are associated with increased influence, which may lead to advantageous benefits in offline social settings (Burt, 1992; Erickson, 1996). Recent evidence suggests that these arguments are also true for online environments (Szabo & Huberman, 2010). Typically, online sites facilitate various means of interactions between individuals, such as following or responding. These social and communication ties form a network which provides an opportunity for Online Social Network (OSN) members to increase their visibility and exposure, interact with others, and gain real advantage from their network position (Ellison, Vitak, Gray, & Lampe, 2014). However, researchers have not yet systematically investigated whether, and to what extent, online network structures affect OSN members’ abilities to increase the popularity of their content. This article attempts to fill this gap. Building on prior research, we propose that online content’s popularity is highly correlated with social network structures, and even more so with the communication interactions network. Our study identifies preferred network positioning that might enhance popularity among OSN users.