Interactive Sensing and Decision Making in Social Networks

TL;DR

This paper surveys recent advances in sensing and decision making within social networks, covering models, algorithms, and analysis tools across various disciplines, with practical examples and theoretical insights.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive survey, tutorial, and discussion of four stylized models in social network sensing and decision making, integrating multiple research perspectives.

Findings

Models for social learning and interactive sensing

Analysis of degree distribution tracking in social networks

Insights into information diffusion and decision coordination

Abstract

The proliferation of social media such as real time microblogging and online reputation systems facilitate real time sensing of social patterns and behavior. In the last decade, sensing and decision making in social networks have witnessed significant progress in the electrical engineering, computer science, economics, finance, and sociology research communities. Research in this area involves the interaction of dynamic random graphs, socio-economic analysis, and statistical inference algorithms. This monograph provides a survey, tutorial development, and discussion of four highly stylized examples: social learning for interactive sensing; tracking the degree distribution of social networks; sensing and information diffusion; and coordination of decision making via game-theoretic learning. Each of the four examples is motivated by practical examples, and comprises of a literature survey together with careful problem formulation and mathematical analysis. Despite being highly stylized, these examples provide a rich variety of models, algorithms and analysis tools that are readily accessible to a signal processing, control/systems theory, and applied mathematics audience.