Identification of a propagator-type leader in a social network

Abstract

Techniques for identification of a propagator-type leader in a social network are described. According to various embodiments, a specific content item posted by a particular actor of a plurality of actors and interactions by other actors of the plurality of actors with the specific content item are identified. A leadership score associated with the particular actor is calculated, the leadership score indicating a propensity of the particular actor to spread information among the plurality of actors of the online social network service. The particular actor is then classified as an information propagator among the plurality of actors of the online social network service, based on the calculated leadership score.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A computer system comprising:
 a machine including a memory and at least one processor;   an interaction module configured to:   generating, based on interaction data associated with a specific content item posted by a particular actor from a plurality of actors in an online social network service, a leadership score for the particular actor indicative of a propensity of the particular actor to spread information among other actors in the plurality of actors;   determining a threshold number of the other actors that have disseminated the specific content item in accordance with a threshold requirement; and   classifying, based at least in part on the leadership score, the particular actor as an information propagator within the plurality of actors.   
     
     
         3 . The computer system of  claim 2 , wherein determining a threshold number of the other actors that have disseminated the specific content item in accordance with a threshold requirement comprises:
 determining each other actor identified via the threshold number of the other actors disseminated the specific content item within a predetermined time period after the specific content item was uploaded to the online social network service.   
     
     
         4 . The computer system of  claim 2 , wherein determining a threshold number of the other actors that have disseminated the specific content item in accordance with a threshold requirement comprises:
 determining the threshold number of the other actors is within a predetermined number range.   
     
     
         5 . The computer system of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 accessing the interaction data, the interaction data describing one or more interactions between at least one actor of the plurality of actors and one or more content items accessible on the online social network service.   
     
     
         6 . The computer system of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 identifying, based on the interaction data, the specific content item posted by the particular actor of the plurality of actors and one or more interactions by respective other actors of the plurality of actors with the specific content item.   
     
     
         7 . The computer system of  claim 2 , wherein each instance of dissemination of the specific content item comprises any of: a viewing of the specific content item, a clicking on the specific content item, a liking of the specific content item, a sharing of specific content item, a following of the particular actor, or submitting a comment about the specific content item. 
     
     
         8 . The computer system of  claim 2 , wherein the specific content item is not authored or generated by the particular actor. 
     
     
         9 . The computer system of  claim 2 , wherein the generating further comprises:
 calculating the leadership score based in part on at least one of: a number of social network followers of the particular actor and a number of social network connections of the particular actor.   
     
     
         10 . The computer system of  claim 2 , wherein the generating further comprises:
 calculating the leadership score based in part on a number of group members of a group entity, in the online social network service, to which the particular actor is currently subscribed.   
     
     
         11 . The computer system of  claim 2 , wherein the specific content item comprises one of: an article, a message, a comment, a question, a statement, a status update, or media content. 
     
     
         12 . The computer system of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 accessing an electronic sociograph depicting each actor of the plurality of actors as a respective node in the electronic sociograph, the electronic sociograph including at least one edge extending between a respective node pair, wherein an edge represents a relationship between respective actors that correspond with a given node pair; and   annotating a node in the electronic sociograph that corresponds to the particular actor with information indicating that the particular actor is classified as the information propagator.   
     
     
         13 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein at least one respective edge represents a first actor in the given node pair is following a second actor in the given node pair. 
     
     
         14 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein at least one respective edge is associated with an edge weight, wherein the edge weight represents social network activity frequency between at least one actor in the given node pair and the particular actor. 
     
     
         15 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:
 generating, based on interaction data associated with a specific content item posted by a particular actor from a plurality of actors in an online social network service, a leadership score for the particular actor indicative of a propensity of the particular actor to spread information among other actors in the plurality of actors;   determining, via at least one hardware processor, a threshold number of the other actors that have disseminated the specific content item in accordance with a threshold requirement; and   classifying, based at least in part on the leadership score, the particular actor as an information propagator within the plurality of actors.   
     
     
         16 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 15 , wherein determining a threshold number of the other actors that have disseminated the specific content item in accordance with a threshold requirement comprises:
 determining each other actor identified via the threshold number of the other actors disseminated the specific content item within a predetermined time period after the specific content item was uploaded to the online social network service.   
     
     
         17 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 15 , wherein determining a threshold number of the other actors that have disseminated the specific content item in accordance with a threshold requirement comprises:
 determining the threshold number of the other actors is within a predetermined number range.   
     
     
         18 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 accessing the interaction data, the interaction data describing one or more interactions between at least one actor of the plurality of actors and one or more content items accessible on the online social network service.   
     
     
         19 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 identifying, based on the interaction data, the specific content item posted by the particular actor of the plurality of actors and one or more interactions by respective other actors of the plurality of actors with the specific content item.   
     
     
         20 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 accessing an electronic sociograph depicting each actor of the plurality of actors as a respective node in the electronic sociograph, the electronic sociograph including at least one edge extending between a respective node pair, wherein an edge represents a relationship between respective actors that correspond with a given node pair; and   annotating a node in the electronic sociograph that corresponds to the particular actor with information indicating that the particular actor is classified as the information propagator,   wherein a first edge represents a first actor in a first node pair is following a second actor in the given node pair;   wherein a second edge is associated with an edge weight, wherein the edge weight represents social network activity frequency between at least one actor in a second node pair and the particular actor.   
     
     
         21 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions thereon, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations including:
 generating, based on interaction data associated with a specific content item posted by a particular actor from a plurality of actors in an online social network service, a leadership score for the particular actor indicative of a propensity of the particular actor to spread information among other actors in the plurality of actors;   determining a threshold number of the other actors that have disseminated the specific content item in accordance with a threshold requirement; and   classifying, based at least in part on the leadership score, the particular actor as an information propagator within the plurality of actors.