The Journal of Society for e-Business Studies (한국전자거래학회지)

Society for e-Business Studies (한국전자거래학회)
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Information Mediating in Social Network Sites : A Simulation Study

소셜 네트워크 사이트의 정보 매개하기 : 시뮬레이션 연구

  • Rho, Sangkyu (Graduate School of Business Seoul National University) ;
  • Kim, Taekyung (College of Business Administration Seoul National University) ;
  • Park, Jinsoo (Graduate School of Business Seoul National University)
  • Received : 2012.11.12
  • Accepted : 2012.11.27
  • Published : 2013.02.28
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Abstract

Information sharing behavior in the Internet has raised much interest. Recently, social network sites provide a new information sharing channel for the users who want to connect with others based on common social background or tastes. Especially, we focus that a social network site becomes one of major routes for information sharing about socially influential issues. Therefore, studying how information is diffused via a social network site may give theoretically, practically significant implication. Based on the assertion, we investigated user's behavior to mediate other user's information messages. We define information mediating behavior as concurrent actions of filtering and distributing behavior of the digital content that is originated from one of the connected users. In this study, we intended to understand the effects of information mediating behavior, and tried to understand characteristics of re-mediating of previously mediated information. Using an agent-based simulation model, we found that information mediating behavior increased the extent of information diffusion significantly. In addition, even a small degree of mediating probability could boost up the level of information diffusion in the case of a re-mediating condition. We believe that those findings provide remarkable insight of research and business application on both of information sharing and diffusion in a social network site.

개인의 관심사나 사회적 문제를 토론하는 장으로 소셜 네트워크 사이트가 최근 활발하게 쓰인다. 기업에 대한 소식들이 소셜 네트워크 사이트의 사용자들 사이에서 회자되기는 마찬가지다. 이처럼 소셜 네트워크 사이트는 정보가 확산되는 주요 통로로 사용되나, 어떻게 그것이 가능한지에 대한 학문적 이해는 부족한 형편이다. 소셜 네트워크 사이트에서 정보가 전파될 때, 개인과 개인 간의 담화, 혹은 한 개인이 자신의 지인들에게 정보를 알려주는 방법에 따른다. 그런데 이와 같은 개인적 노력으로도 사회적 파장을 불러올 만큼 소셜 네트워크 서비스의 정보 확산은 대단하다. 본 논문은 '정보 매개하기'를 중심으로 어떻게 개인 수준의 정보 전파가 네트워크 수준의 정보 확산을 가져오는지를 이해하려 한다. 특히 정보 매개하기에 있어서 '정보 걸러내기의 효과'의 역할에 관심을 집중했다. 시뮬레이션의 결과를 통해, 정보 매개하기 활동이 정보 전파를 활성화시키며, 나아가 정보 확산에 기여하는 것으로 드러났다. 또한 정보 걸러내기 효과가 있을 때, 매우 작은 확률로 정보 매개하기 활동이 있다고 해도, 그 영향력은 아주 크다는 점을 보였다. 즉, 이미 정보 전파가 있었다는 사실이 다른 사람들의 관심을 끌 수 있다면 비록 소수만이 정보 전파 활동을 하더라도 정보는 아주 빨리 퍼져나갈 수 있다.

Keywords

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