Fig. 5From: Communication now and then: analyzing the Republic of Letters as a communication networkGranovetter effect for different features of communication on (left to right) two snapshots of Letters (1525–1575) and reference datasets Platform, Email and Forum (the effect has already been described in Mobile by Ureña-Carrion et al. 2020). The embeddedness of ties, as measured by topological overlap, changes in association with behavioural communication features, although not always in a linear fashion. Shaded area represents 80% of the distribution. Features of communication: (i) number of contacts w, (ii) temporal stability TS and (iii) Mean IET \(\mu\). The Granovetter effect is most visible for w. Using TS as a proxy for tie strength we do not observe the effect for Letters and we only observe it partly for Platform. For \(\mu\), the effect (decrease of overlap with larger average IET) is visible for the period 1525–1575 and partially for larger values of ForumBack to article page