Peer Influence and Information Diffusion in Online Networks: An Empirical Analysis

Through our study we empirically test the role of peers on diffusion of niche music in an online social network. Over the last few years, online networks have been gaining popularity and allowing community members to share and exchange information. Traditionally this online diffusion of information was dependent on other mechanisms like viral marketing, recommender systems, and online word-of-mouth. But due to information overload the effectiveness of these mechanisms is reduced. With the increase in online trust, online social networks are becoming the platform of choice for product advertising and discovery. We found that the online peers indeed influence other peers and enable discovery of niche music on social networks.