The Collective Direction of Attention Diffusion.
We find that the flow of attention on the Web forms a directed, tree-like structure implying the time-sensitive browsing behavior of users. Using the data of a news sharing website, we construct clickstream networks in which nodes are news stories and edges represent the consecutive clicks between two stories. To identify the flow direction of clickstreams, we define the "flow distance" of nodes (Li), which measures the average number of steps a random walker takes to reach the ith node. It is observed that Liis related with the clicks (Ci) to news stories and the age (Ti) of stories. Putting these three variables together help us understand the rise and decay of news stories from a network perspective. We also find that the studied clickstream networks preserve a stable structure over time, leading to the scaling between users and clicks. The universal scaling behavior is confirmed by the 1,000 Web forums. We suggest that the tree-like, stable structure of clickstream networks reveals the time-sensitive preference of users in online browsing. To test our assumption, we discuss three models on individual browsing behavior, and compare the simulation results with empirical data.
Computational Communication Collaboratory, School of Journalism and Communication, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, P.R. China.
Cheng-Jun
CJ
Wang
Center for Behavior, Institutions and the Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA.
Lingfei
L
Wu
School of Systems Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, P.R. China.
Jiang
J
Zhang
Center for Behavior, Institutions and the Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA.|School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA.
Marco A
MA
Janssen
Science. 2013 Dec 13;342(6164):1337-42
24337289
Sci Rep. 2012;2:335
22461971
PLoS One. 2014 Aug 12;9(8):e102646
25115897
PLoS One. 2013 Sep 03;8(9):e72525
24019871
Science. 1998 Apr 3;280(5360):95-7
9525865
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Jan 30;104(5):1461-4
17244704
Chin Sci Bull. 2014;59(28):3511-3522
32214746
Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2011 Aug;84(2 Pt 2):026113
21929070
PLoS One. 2009;4(3):e4803
19277205
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Nov 6;104(45):17599-601
17962416