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  • In social networks, group boundaries promote the spread of ideas, study finds
    http://phys.org/news/2015-06-social-networks-group-boundaries-ideas.html

    Social networks influence how ideas and beliefs can spread around a society. In this study, the University of Pennsylvania’s Damon Centola shows that networks that are very diffuse (left) make it hard for ideas to catch on, while networks with very strong group boundaries (right) make it almost impossible for ideas to spread. A network that was moderately “grouped,” however, was most conducive to spreading complex ideas.
    Credit: University of Pennsylvania

    On notera que le titre de cette présentation de la publication de D. Centola n’est pas loin du contre-sens. Puisque, dans le graphique ci-dessus, c’est la situation du milieu qui est optimale.

    Le résumé de l’article (juin 2015) le reste derrière #paywall

    The Social Origins of Networks and Diffusion on JSTOR
    http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/681275

    Abstract
    Recent research on social contagion has demonstrated significant effects of network topology on the dynamics of diffusion. However, network topologies are not given a priori. Rather, they are patterns of relations that emerge from individual and structural features of society, such as population composition, group heterogeneity, homophily, and social consolidation. Following Blau and Schwartz, the author develops a model of social network formation that explores how social and structural constraints on tie formation generate emergent social topologies and then explores the effectiveness of these social networks for the dynamics of social diffusion. Results show that, at one extreme, high levels of consolidation can create highly balkanized communities with poor integration of shared norms and practices. As suggested by Blau and Schwartz, reducing consolidation creates more crosscutting circles and significantly improves the dynamics of social diffusion across the population. However, the author finds that further reducing consolidation creates highly intersecting social networks that fail to support the widespread diffusion of norms and practices, indicating that successful social diffusion can depend on moderate to high levels of structural consolidation.

    • (...) these kinds of structures, in which group boundaries exist but overlap to some degree, are naturally occurring on the Internet. Distinct online communities sprout up among people with common interests, yet these groups also have interconnections across their membership.

      “It could be that the #Internet is in fact set up and operates in such a way as to allow easier coordination on complex ideas,” he said.

      #réseaux_sociaux #mémétique #idées #entre-soi