Social media analytics: tracking, modeling and predicting the flow of information through networks

Online social media represent a fundamental shift of how information is being produced, transferred and consumed. User generated content in the form of blog posts, comments, and tweets establishes a connection between the producers and the consumers of information. Tracking the pulse of the social media outlets, enables companies to gain feedback and insight in how to improve and market products better. For consumers, the abundance of information and opinions from diverse sources helps them tap into the wisdom of crowds, to aid in making more informed decisions.

The present tutorial investigates techniques for social media modeling, analytics and optimization. First we present methods for collecting large scale social media data and then discuss techniques for coping with and correcting for the effects arising from missing and incomplete data. We proceed by discussing methods for extracting and tracking information as it spreads among the users. Then we examine methods for extracting temporal patterns by which information popularity grows and fades over time. We show how to quantify and maximize the influence of media outlets on the popularity and attention given to particular piece of content, and how to build predictive models of information diffusion and adoption. As the information often spreads through implicit social and information networks we present methods for inferring networks of influence and diffusion. Last, we discuss methods for tracking the flow of sentiment through networks and emergence of polarization.