A Game Theoretical Approach to Broadcast Information Diffusion in Social Networks

TL;DR

This paper models how information spreads and feedback occurs in social networks using game theory, considering individual personalities and strategic behaviors of users in a star-shaped network.

Contribution

It introduces a novel game theoretical framework that captures human factors like trust and popularity in information diffusion and feedback mechanisms.

Findings

The model explains strategic user behaviors in information forwarding.

Analysis reveals conditions for effective information spread.

The framework accounts for personality influences on communication strategies.

Abstract

One major function of social networks (e.g., massive online social networks) is the dissemination of information, such as scientific knowledge, news, and rumors. Information can be propagated by the users of the network via natural connections in written, oral or electronic form. The information passing from a sender to receivers and back (in the form of comments) involves all of the actors considering their knowledge, trust, and popularity, which shape their publishing and commenting strategies. To understand such human aspects of the information dissemination, we propose a game theoretical model of a one-way information forwarding and feedback mechanism in a star-shaped social network that takes into account the personalities of the communicating actors.