Information Cascades could explain Viral Photos
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/april/viral-photo-cascade-040314.html
The above article describes a model created to predict which photos will go viral on facebook. The algorithm uses the concept of information cascades that we learnt in networks.
At any point in the cascade, there is a 50-50 chance that the shares will double. The speed of sharing is found to be an important predictor of cascade growth. Simply analyzing how quickly a cascade unfolded predicted doublings 78 percent of the time.
The structure of the cascade was also found to be a very important predictor of the photos success. Photos that spread among different friendship networks or fan groups indicated a breadth of interest. Structure proved 67.1 percent accurate at predicting doubling when used alone.
This confirms the concepts that we learnt in class that where in the structure a new technology or concept is introduced, immensely affects the popularity and adoption of the technology.