2012/03/28 by Dajun Qian, Qian, Dajun, Osman Yağan +5
Physics and Astronomy · Psychology · #Complex Network Analysis Techniques #FOS: Computer and information sciences #FOS: Physical sciences #Mental Health Research Topics #Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence #Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph) #Social and Information Networks (cs.SI)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1203.6122
openalex publication_date 2012/03/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We study the diffusion behavior of real-time information. Typically, real-time information is valuable only for a limited time duration, and hence needs to be delivered before its "deadline." Therefore, real-time information is much easier to spread among a group of people with frequent interactions than between isolated individuals. With this insight, we consider a social network which consists of many cliques and information can spread quickly within a clique. Furthermore, information can also be shared through online social networks, such as Facebook, twitter, Youtube, etc. We characterize the diffusion of real-time information by studying the phase transition behaviors. Capitalizing on the theory of inhomogeneous random networks, we show that the social network has a critical threshold above which information epidemics are very likely to happen. We also theoretically quantify the fractional size of individuals that finally receive the message. Finally, the numerical results indicate that under certain conditions, the large size cliques in a social network could greatly facilitate the diffusion of real-time information.