Dr. William Rand presents “A Discussion on the Diffusion of Information in Social Networks”

Date: January 1, 1970

Research Director Dr. William Rand of The Center for Complexity in Business at the University of Maryland will discuss questions of information diffusion and how to answer them through social media and agent-based modeling Noon on June 1st at Optimal Solution Group, LLC’s (Optimal’s) office. Dr. Rand poses such questions as where do fads come from, why are urban myths popular, and how do we know which of our friends will tell us about the next must-have gadget? He postulates that through the combined use of agent- based modeling, social network analysis, and machine learning, one can study in-depth how information diffusion works within social media and how it can be used to strategically market within it.

Dr. Rand will further discuss the exact process of how to study information diffusion. He starts with “traditional empirical analysis of diffusion utilizing social network analysis,” utilizes an agent based approach, and then discusses how to present and apply the information gathered from the study.

Dr. Rand is currently part of the Marketing Department at Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. He joined the University in 2008. His research focuses include the use of computational modeling techniques, like agent-based modeling, geographic information systems, social network analysis, and machine learning, to help understand and analyze complex systems, like the diffusion of innovation, organizational learning, and economic markets.