Gossip spread in social network Models

Gossip Spread in Social Network Models

Gossip almost inevitably arises in real social networks. In this article we investigate the relationship between the number of friends of a person and limits on how far gossip about that person can spread in the network. How far gossip travels in a network depends on two sets of factors: a) factors determining gossip transmission from one person to the next and b) factors determining network to...

Gossip: Identifying Central Individuals in a Social Network GOSSIP: IDENTIFYING CENTRAL INDIVIDUALS IN A SOCIAL NETWORK

Is it possible, simply by asking a few members of a community, to identify individuals who are best placed to diffuse information? A model of diffusion shows how members of a community can, just by tracking gossip about others, identify those who are most central in a network according to “diffusion centrality” – a network centrality measure that predicts the diffusion of a piece of information...

Gossip in Organizations A Social Network Study

Gossip: Identifying Central Individuals in a Social Network

Can we identify the members of a community who are bestplaced to diffuse information simply by asking a random sample of individuals? We show that boundedly-rational individuals can, simply by tracking sources of gossip, identify those who are most central in a network according to “diffusion centrality,” which nests other standard centrality measures. Testing this prediction with data from 35 ...

The spread of gossip in American schools

Gossip is defined as a rumor which specifically targets one individual and essentially only propagates within its friendship connections. How fast and how far a gossip can spread is for the first time assessed quantitatively in this study. For that purpose we introduce the “spread factor” and study it on empirical networks of school friendships as well as on various models for social connection...