Multi-Level Modeling of Quotation Families Morphogenesis

TL;DR

This paper explores how quotations evolve and diversify during online diffusion, analyzing mutation patterns and their dependence on quotation properties to understand cultural dynamics in social media.

Contribution

It introduces a multi-level modeling approach to analyze quotation morphogenesis, focusing on transformations and mutation rates independent of social network structure.

Findings

Quotations undergo frequent modifications during diffusion.

Mutation rates vary based on quotation properties.

Diversification leads to complex family and sub-family structures.

Abstract

This paper investigates cultural dynamics in social media by examining the proliferation and diversification of clearly-cut pieces of content: quoted texts. In line with the pioneering work of Leskovec et al. and Simmons et al. on memes dynamics we investigate in deep the transformations that quotations published online undergo during their diffusion. We deliberately put aside the structure of the social network as well as the dynamical patterns pertaining to the diffusion process to focus on the way quotations are changed, how often they are modified and how these changes shape more or less diverse families and sub-families of quotations. Following a biological metaphor, we try to understand in which way mutations can transform quotations at different scales and how mutation rates depend on various properties of the quotations.