Data mining is hot these days. Social networks are even hotter. I really don't know how to measure the hotness of the social network data mining. Maybe infinitely hot will do it...

If you want to get your hands dirty with the social network data mining it's easier then you think. You probably already have a good example of a social network right in your mailbox. I'm talking about mailing lists here.

Last year I did some mining for one of the lists I'm subscribed to (just for fun!). I gotta tell you: there is a LOT of cool stuff you can dig out of it. And yes, it became an obsession for some time. I kept thinking how to model it in a better way, so I could come up with more interesting facts.

And here's what I got...