Diffusion Dynamics with Changing Network Composition

Entropy

Raquel A. Baños¹  Javier Borge-Holthoefer¹  Ning Wang²  Yamir Moreno¹ 

[1] Instituto de Biocomputación y Física de Sistemas Complejos (BIFI), Universidad de Zaragoza, Mariano Esquillor s/n, Zaragoza 50018, Spain; E-Mails:;Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3JS, UK; E-Mail:

关键词: information cascades;    political communication;    online networks;    collective behavior;   

DOI  :  10.3390/e15114553

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

We analyze information diffusion using empirical data that tracks online communication around two instances of mass political mobilization that took place in Spain in 2011 and 2012. We also analyze protest-related communications during the year that elapsed between those protests. We compare the global properties of the topological and dynamic networks through which communication took place, as well as local changes in network composition. We show that changes in network structure underlie aggregated differences on how information diffused: an increase in network hierarchy is accompanied by a reduction in the average size of cascades. The increasing hierarchy affects not only the underlying communication topology but also the more dynamic structure of information exchange; the increase is especially noticeable amongst certain categories of nodes (or users). Our findings suggest that the relationship between the structure of networks and their function in diffusing information is not as straightforward as some theoretical models of diffusion in networks imply.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.