[Archive 2008-08-05] Microsoft study proves six degrees of separation

Historical archive — originally published 2008-08-05. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

According to data released by Microsoft, you really are connected by approximately six degrees with the average person on this planet, the Washington Post reported Saturday.

Multiple press agencies are reporting that Microsoft's research on over 30 billion text messages from June 2006 averages to 6.6 degrees between any two people on Earth.

ABC News reports that the 30 billion messages were sent between 180 million people. This equates to roughly half of the instant messaging traffic during that month.

According to the BBC, the concept of "six degrees of separation" or "Small world phenomenon" was the product of research done by American Stanley Milgram in 1967 when he mailed letters from himself to a Boston stock broker. Instead of mailing them direct, he instead sent 160 people in Kansas the letters, asking them to send them to someone who might know the person in Boston. It took an average of six mailings, thus six degrees of separation. Research done in 2006 reported a 95% failure rate in these tests.

The theory was popularized in the 1990s when college students would play a trivia game trying to link actor Kevin Bacon with any one other answer. The person to do so in the shortest number of links won.

In 2003 another similar experiment was undertaken, this time via e-mail. 24,163 volunteers tried to send a message to one of 18 people all over the world. The Post reports that only 384 of the 24,163 chains were connected. That equates to about 98.5% failure rate. An estimate was made at 5 to 7 degrees of separation.

The research found that 78% per connected by 7 steps or less, but some were connected by as many as 29 degrees of separation, the Post said. The most common Microsoft Messenger user is in America, Europe or Asia.

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