SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING KEY TARGETS IN A SOCIAL NETWORK BY HEURISTICALLY APPROXIMATING INFLUENCE

摘要

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for selecting a set of nodes to maximize information spreading. During operation, the system receives a budget constraint and a population sample, constructs a social network associated with the population sample, analyzes a network graph associated with the social network to obtain structural information associated with a node within the social network, estimates characteristics associated with the node, and selects the set of nodes that maximizes the information spreading under the budget constraint based on the structural information and the characteristics associated with the node.