Modeling Random Forwarding Actions for Information Diffusion over Mobile Social Networks

Modeling information diffusion over social networks has attracted a lot of attention from both academia and industry. Based on universal generating function method and discrete stress-strength interference theory, a novel method is proposed to model the users’ random forwarding actions, and the most susceptible users are extracted. The effect of a user on information diffusion is quantified as node susceptibility (NS), and NS is defined as the probability that quantity of information (message) the user forwards is larger than that he receives. The model can address three questions: which users are most susceptible, which types of information they are most susceptible to, and when they are most susceptible. The solutions of these questions are very helpful for the practitioners. A case study is used to illustrate the feasibility and practicality of the proposed model.