[论文解读] Follow Whom? Chinese Users Have Different Choice

Zhaoqun Chen, Pengfei Liu+2 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Dec 1, 2012

Complex Network Analysis Techniques参考文献 26被引用 14

一句话总结

本研究基于大规模数据集（新浪微博：8080万用户，72亿条关系；Twitter：4100万用户，15亿条关系），比较了新浪微博与Twitter用户在社交平台上的关注偏好。研究发现，由于文化因素影响，新浪微博用户表现出更强的层级化关注行为——更倾向于关注社会地位更高或相等的用户，而Twitter用户则表现出更开放、更多样化的关注模式。本研究提出边平衡比（edge balance ratio）指标，发现新浪微博的互惠性较低、度数不相性较高，且正向平衡关系更多。

ABSTRACT

Sina Weibo, which was launched in 2009, is the most popular Chinese micro-blogging service. It has been reported that Sina Weibo has more than 400 million registered users by the end of the third quarter in 2012. Sina Weibo and Twitter have a lot in common, however, in terms of the following preference, Sina Weibo users, most of whom are Chinese, behave differently compared with those of Twitter. This work is based on a data set of Sina Weibo which contains 80.8 million users' profiles and 7.2 billion relations and a large data set of Twitter. Firstly some basic features of Sina Weibo and Twitter are analyzed such as degree and activeness distribution, correlation between degree and activeness, and the degree of separation. Then the following preference is investigated by studying the assortative mixing, friend similarities, following distribution, edge balance ratio, and ranking correlation, where edge balance ratio is newly proposed to measure balance property of graphs. It is found that Sina Weibo has a lower reciprocity rate, more positive balanced relations and is more disassortative. Coinciding with Asian traditional culture, the following preference of Sina Weibo users is more concentrated and hierarchical: they are more likely to follow people at higher or the same social levels and less likely to follow people lower than themselves. In contrast, the same kind of following preference is weaker in Twitter. Twitter users are open as they follow people from levels, which accords with its global characteristic and the prevalence of western civilization. The message forwarding behavior is studied by displaying the propagation levels, delays, and critical users. The following preference derives from not only the usage habits but also underlying reasons such as personalities and social moralities that is worthy of future research.

研究动机与目标

• 调查并比较新浪微博与Twitter两大社交平台用户在不同文化背景下的关注偏好。
• 分析文化背景（尤其是中国传统的等级秩序观念与西方个人主义）如何影响在线社交网络行为。
• 识别两个平台在网络拓扑结构上的差异，如互惠性、度数相关性及边平衡性。
• 研究用户属性（如粉丝数、PageRank）及关键用户在信息传播中的作用。
• 首次基于真实世界数据，对全球性平台（Twitter）与本地化平台（新浪微博）进行大规模对比分析。

提出的方法

• 收集并分析大规模数据集：新浪微博包含8080万用户及72亿条关系，Twitter包含4100万用户及15亿条关系。
• 计算基本网络特征：度分布、活跃度分布、度与活跃度之间的相关性，以及有效直径。
• 提出边平衡比（edge balance ratio）作为新指标，用于量化有向社交网络的平衡性特征。
• 通过分析度数相关性、好友相似性及关注分布，评估用户关注行为中的同质性与社会层级现象。
• 根据粉丝数与PageRank对用户进行排名，比较两个平台在关注偏好多样性上的差异。
• 通过追踪转发层级、延迟时间及关键用户，研究信息传播动态。

实验结果

研究问题

• RQ1 新浪微博用户与Twitter用户在社会层级与互惠性方面的关注偏好有何差异？
• RQ2 诸如儒家价值观等文化因素在多大程度上影响了微博平台上的用户行为？
• RQ3 新浪微博与Twitter网络在度数不相性、互惠性及边平衡性方面存在哪些结构性差异？
• RQ4 用户属性（如粉丝数与PageRank）与信息传播影响力之间存在何种相关性？
• RQ5 病毒式内容传播中呈现出何种传播模式？哪些关键用户在推动大规模转发中发挥核心作用？

主要发现

• 新浪微博的互惠性较低（0.15），且度数不相性较高，表明其互惠关注较少，层级化连接更明显。
• 新浪微博中正向平衡关系的比例（62.3%）高于Twitter（52.1%），反映出其关注选择中更强的规范一致性。
• 新浪微博用户显著偏好关注社会地位相等或更高的用户，与传统中国文化价值观一致。
• Twitter用户表现出更广泛多样的关注偏好，对不同社会层级用户的关注更具开放性，体现西方文化规范。
• 边平衡比指标成功捕捉到结构性差异，显示新浪微博网络更具平衡性与层级性。
• 新浪微博传播中的关键用户（转发量高者）通常拥有大量粉丝，表明其在病毒式传播中处于核心地位。