Influential users in social networks

Abstract

A study of the influential users in online social networks is the focus of this work. Social networks expand both in terms of membership and diversity. User driven content creation is growing, and yet this information potential remains largely untapped. Future search engines focusing in social networks should take into account both the content and the structural properties of the nodes.Whereas a social network bears a superficial similarity to the Web, it is different in the sense that it connects primarily individuals rather than pages of content. Not all individuals are equally important for any given task, therefore the influential ones should be detected, in that vein we review facets of influence in social networks. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.