Comments on: Tracing influence through the network http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2008/03/17/tracing-influence-through-the-network/ Eric Nehrlich, Unrepentant Generalist Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:24:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: Millennial Makeover: Is there a Lincoln or FDR in the 2008 race? | The Miami Report http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2008/03/17/tracing-influence-through-the-network/comment-page-1/#comment-362917 Millennial Makeover: Is there a Lincoln or FDR in the 2008 race? | The Miami Report Thu, 21 Oct 2010 14:39:02 +0000 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2008/03/17/tracing-influence-through-the-network/#comment-362917 [...] that social networks as a transport medium have impacted the 2008 election – which goes into my BarCamp discussion on the speed of memes in various [...] [...] that social networks as a transport medium have impacted the 2008 election – which goes into my BarCamp discussion on the speed of memes in various [...]

]]> By: Eric http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2008/03/17/tracing-influence-through-the-network/comment-page-1/#comment-144497 Eric Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:22:50 +0000 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2008/03/17/tracing-influence-through-the-network/#comment-144497 Yeah, it could be that a <a href=http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2007/07/11/the-social-atom-by-mark-buchanan/ rel="nofollow">social atom</a> approach is the way to go. Neural networks seemed reasonable, since they involve nodes connected to other nodes with weights and feedback. If I listen to your advice on a restaurant, and then don't like that restaurant, then your weight gets reduced next time. That's the same process by which a neural network works (project a result, compare to actual result, adjust weights accordingly). Restricting it to a certain decision/behavior makes sense - although that kind of plays into a neural network model as well, since neurons have default levels of activation, and need more or less incoming signal to get pushed over their threshold. If I'm in the market to buy a laptop, I don't need much of a push to do so, but if I'm not even looking, then no amount of pushing will convert me. Hrm. Yeah, it could be that a social atom approach is the way to go. Neural networks seemed reasonable, since they involve nodes connected to other nodes with weights and feedback. If I listen to your advice on a restaurant, and then don’t like that restaurant, then your weight gets reduced next time. That’s the same process by which a neural network works (project a result, compare to actual result, adjust weights accordingly).

Restricting it to a certain decision/behavior makes sense – although that kind of plays into a neural network model as well, since neurons have default levels of activation, and need more or less incoming signal to get pushed over their threshold. If I’m in the market to buy a laptop, I don’t need much of a push to do so, but if I’m not even looking, then no amount of pushing will convert me. Hrm.

]]> By: Beemer http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2008/03/17/tracing-influence-through-the-network/comment-page-1/#comment-144426 Beemer Tue, 18 Mar 2008 06:16:34 +0000 http://www.nehrlich.com/blog/2008/03/17/tracing-influence-through-the-network/#comment-144426 I think it's useful to think of influence as having an effect on a decision or a behavior. This makes it clearly not just a function, but a functional, but it also means you can focus on influence that relates to the behaviors/decisions you're interested in, and just throw out all the rest. I dunno that a neural network in the strict sense will get you anywhere interesting. They tend to be very black-boxy, and unless you restrict the topology in specific ways, it's easy to get networks that just thrash about without doing anything interesting. But generalize it to behavioral agents that live in a network and talk to their neighbors and I think you've definitely got potential. I think it’s useful to think of influence as having an effect on a decision or a behavior. This makes it clearly not just a function, but a functional, but it also means you can focus on influence that relates to the behaviors/decisions you’re interested in, and just throw out all the rest.

I dunno that a neural network in the strict sense will get you anywhere interesting. They tend to be very black-boxy, and unless you restrict the topology in specific ways, it’s easy to get networks that just thrash about without doing anything interesting. But generalize it to behavioral agents that live in a network and talk to their neighbors and I think you’ve definitely got potential.

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