An Agent-Based Model for Information Diffusion over Online Social Networks

Online social networks have become a new channel for urban citizens to acquire information. The efficient information diffusion in their communities ensures wide awareness of updated special events. With agent-based models built on the NetLogo platform, I study information diffusion on online social networks with different simulated network structures. Outcomes from simulated networks and from a case study of real-world Twitter networks show that there exist a range of paired optimal propagation parameters that could mimic real-world information diffusion. It is found that the physical space and the process of information diffusion on the real retweet network over time still demonstrate a geographic pattern showing that a local city or a related city is more involved in a special event in the area.