Social Dynamics of Information

Abstract

This project s goal was to uncover the mechanisms of information flow in social media and relate them to network structure. The findings challenged a widely-held view that information spreads like a pathogen and showed that the differences between the spread of disease and information stem from human cognitive limitations. While highly connected people amplify pathogenic contagion, in social contagion they are cognitively overloaded with messages their friends produce and are less likely to see and spread a particular message. Accounting for cognitive constraints significantly simplifies social contagion, and leads to new ways to measure influence in social networks.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 2013
Accession Number
ADA589259

Entities

People

  • Kristina Lerman

Organizations

  • University of Southern California

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Air Force
  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Big Data
  • Contracts
  • Data Mining
  • Data Science
  • Department Of Defense
  • Dynamics
  • Information Science
  • Intelligent Systems
  • Media
  • Military Research
  • Networks
  • Social Computing
  • Social Media
  • Social Networks

Readers

  • Agent-Based Social Robotics and Mobile-Assisted Learning in Virtual Environments.
  • Systems Analysis and Design