A Game Theoretical Approach to Modeling Information Dissemination in Social Networks

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 a receiver intrinsically involves both of them considering their self-perceived knowledge, reputation, and popularity, which further determine their decisions of whether or not to forward the information and whether or not to provide feedback. To understand such human aspects of the information dissemination, we propose a game theoretical model of the information forwarding and feedback mechanisms in a social network that take into account the personalities of the sender and the receiver (including their perceived knowledgeability, reputation, and desire for popularity) and the global characteristics of the network.