The role of network setting and gender in online content popularity

In this study, we explore the role of specific network structures that enhance social capital and assess the extent to which gender, social ties, and communication interaction relate to content popularity within online social networks (OSNs). Our results are based on an extensive OSN data set, containing over 100,000 members, connected by over 1.7 million links. The findings indicate that content popularity inference is more accurate when considering activity interaction among users and that network structures known as advantageous for amassing social capital in the offline environment are relevant online as well. We conclude by discussing how gender mediates the correlation between some network measures and the growth of users’ content popularity and provide a potential explanation for the emergence of gender differences.