Dresden 2014 – scientific programme

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SOE: Fachverband Physik sozio-ökonomischer Systeme

SOE 2: Dynamics of Social and Financial Networks

SOE 2.5: Talk

Monday, March 31, 2014, 11:30–11:45, GÖR 226

Trade-off between virality and mass media influence in the evolution of online social networks — •Kaj Kolja Kleineberg and Marián Boguñá — Departament de Física Fonamental, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain

We investigate the topological evolution of online social networks. To this end, we analyze empirical data from a large online social network. We observe a dynamical phase transition between a disconnected and a connected phase. We present a two-layer multiplex model which incorporates viral and mass media dynamics and is based on the real underlying social structure. We identify viral spreading and mass media influence as the underlying mechanisms for the evolution of online social networks. We show that the trade-off between these complementary principles governs the topological growth of the network. The comparison of the model results with empirical data allows us to provide new quantitative insights about the relationship between the importance of virality and mass media for the evolution process of the analyzed online social network. The investigation of the evolution of local topology leads to the conclusion that the formation of the online social network favors weak ties. We discuss this finding within the framework of Granovetters theory.