Information Propagation on the Web 2.0

The diffusion of the Internet has considerably changed the basic principles of information exchange into a structure that is now enabling user-driven information propagation across most markets that was not possible in the previous era of unidirectional mass communication. This study focuses on the submitters' social networks to explain these new propagation processes. Large datasets from a social news site are used to show that it is the size, structure and activity of such networks that mainly influence whether or not certain content achieves a prominent level. Message and content-related factors seem of only marginal importance at least until the respective content exceeds a threshold of public attention.

Autorentext

Mark Elsner, business studies (marketing and organisation) and media studies at Mainz and Madrid; executive consultant; research stay at the University of Colorado; PhD at the University of Mainz; PostDoc at the University of Cologne.

Inhalt
Contents: User-generated content Information propagation on the Web 2.0 Opinion leadership Multivariate timing models.