Modeling Information Diffusion with the External Environment in Social Networks

Abstract

This paper addresses the problem of modeling the information diffusion in social networks. We are motivated by the phenomenon that individuals can receive information from the external environment, which possibly causes the transition of individuals’ states. Most of existing models are based on the assumption that information spread through social interactions between individuals in the interior network, but few attention is paid to the change of states due to the information obtaining from the external environment. This paper proposes an External Environment Involved Information Diffusion Model (EEIIDM) by integrating the effect of the external environment. Mechanisms of state transition are utilized to describe the information diffusion. Theoretical analyses of the model are carried out in both homogeneous and heterogeneous networks, demonstrating that all individuals are informed at the equilibrium when the external environment is introduced. Furthermore, simulation results show that the external environment makes the diffusion process less sensitive to the initial spreader.