Shifting Behaviour of Users: Towards Understanding the Fundamental Law of Social Networks

Abstract: Social Networking Sites (SNSs) are powerful marketing and communication tools. There are hundreds of SNSs that have entered and exited the market over time. The coexistence of multiple SNSs is a rarely observed phenomenon. Most coexisting SNSs either serve different purposes for its users or have cultural differences among them. The introduction of a new SNS with a better set of features can lead to the demise of an existing SNS, as observed in the transition from Orkut to Facebook. The paper proposes a model for analyzing the transition of users from one SNS to another, when a new SNS is introduced in the system. The game theoretic model proposed considers two major factors in determining the success of a new SNS. The first being time that an old SNS gets to stabilise. We study whether the time that a SNS like Facebook received to monopolize its reach had a distinguishable effect. The second factor is the set of features showcased by the new SNS. The results of the model are also experimentally verified with data collected by means of a survey.