Identifying Influential Users On Social Networks: Methods And Applications

With the continuous development of society, the concept of network has changed a lot. Many complex systems can be expressed as complex networks. In recent years, the research on complex networks has attracted much attention. As one of the important issues for complex networks research, identifying influential nodes in complex networks is closely related with spreading and controllability of the networks. The pivotal nodes in complex networks are the extraordinary nodes that play more significant role than other nodes on the structure and function of the networks. Related research will provide a powerful theory support for the marketing, advertising and many other fields. This thesis presents a method for calculating the k-shell structure of weighted networks. Based on this method, we design and develop a network-marketing system — Datui Web.To calculate the k-shell structure of weighted networks, the previous researchers usually round the link weight value to the nearest integer. Extending the H-index method to weighted networks, we present a weighted H-index method to rank the nodes in complex networks. In the presence of weights, we show that the method is able to partition the network in a more refined way. Furthermore, this thesis proves that, in a weighted network, a node’s weighted H-index sequence will converge to a weighted coreness of this node. At last, by changing the link weights in a continuous way, we discuss the effect of link weights on the ranking result of the significance of nodes.Along with the popularization of the Internet, the network marketing becomes more and more important. With the presence of the social network software, people can express themselves in a new way. The value of the influential people has been discovered. It provides a new approach for enterprises’ network marketing. Nonetheless, the network marketing with social network software hasn’t been popularized because of the communication barrier between enterprises and influential people. Therefore, we build a third-party platform to help facilitate communication between enterprises and influential people. This web uses the weighted H-index method to identify influential people in the social network. Moreover, by text mining, we can discover the interests of the influential people. On the one hand, the network marketing will be more efficient for the enterprises. On the other hand, the influential people can maximize their values. Based on Python-based Django Framework, we develop the Datui web, which is available now.