Predicting product adoption in large-scale social networks

Online social networks offer opportunities to analyze user behavior and social connectivity and leverage resulting insights for effective online advertising. We study the adoption of a paid product by members of a large and well-connected Instant Messenger (IM) network. This product is important to the business and poses unique challenges to advertising due to its low baseline adoption rate. We find that adoption by highly connected individuals is correlated with their social connections (friends) adopting after them. However, there is little evidence of social influence by these high degree individuals. Further, the spread of adoption remains mostly local to first-adopters and their immediate friends. We observe strong evidence of peer pressure wherein future adoption by an individual is more likely if the product has been widely adopted by the individual’s friends. Social neighborhoods rich in adoptions also continue to add more new adoptions compared to those neighborhoods t...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: CIKM
• Authors: Rushi Bhatt, Vineet Chaoji, Rajesh Parekh
• Keywords: Adoption, CIKM 2010, Future Adoption, Information Technology, Social