The Structure of Buzz- Modeling Rumor Diffusion in Dynamic Social Networks

Jurgen ZPfeffer, Michael Zerr, Martin Eichner, Markus Scwehm are asking the question where do you begin a rumor? When you are sending high social currency rumor information (sex and scandal) it is indifferent where you seed a rumor for diffusion. However initiating a low social currency rumor (Marketing) it is critical where you initiate a rumor. It is easier to be inoculated with information if it comes from different directions and different areas of your personal network. The eventual information transfer will hop to new areas of the network like flying sparks. Ideally seed local and create a seed fire from which you can generate secondary fires, but a strong seed is important to keep the information fire burning and keep interest peaked.

 Next steps is to investigate why rumors die within a network. Is the validity or the social capital of the rumor central to its longevity? An example of this is a novel called “Das Kind”. They created a viral campaign around the book. The question is to create a buzz market. So they sent a 11 pizzas to people at home who did not order a pizza. Inside the pizza was a USB stick with a movie and created an internet game leading up to the release of the book. The consultancy searched on blogs and personal profiles to find people interested in mystery and action novels. The interest was more important than the size of thier network. The consultancy was to the seed a strong fire in one city (

Berlin

) and let the flying sparks move to other areas of the country.

Comments

[Alanagh Recreant]

Thank you for this entry... Absolutely love your thinking and discoveries!