Online Social Network Internetworking Analysis

Online social networks (OSNs) contain data about users, their relations, interests and daily activities andthe great value of this data results in ever growing popularity of OSNs. There are two types of OSNs data,semantic and topological. Both can be used to support decision making processes in many applicationssuch as in information diffusion, viral marketing and epidemiology. Online Social network analysis (OSNA)research is used to maximize the benefits gained from OSNs’ data. This paper provides a comprehensive\udstudy of OSNs and OSNA to provide analysts with the knowledge needed to analyse OSNs. OSNs’internetworking was found to increase the wealth of the analysed data by depending on more than one OSNas the source of the analysed data.\ud\udPaper proposes a generic model of OSNs’ internetworking system that an analyst can rely on. Twodifferent data sources in OSNs were identified in our efforts to provide a thorough study of OSNs, whichare the OSN User data and the OSN platform data. Additionally, we propose a classification of the OSNUser data according to its analysis models for different data types to shed some light into the current usedOSNA methodologies. We also highlight the different metrics and parameters that analysts can use toevaluate semantic or topologic OSN user data. Further, we present a classification of the other data typesand OSN platform data that can be used to compare the capabilities of different OSNs whether separate orin a OSNs’ internetworking system. To increase analysts’ awareness about the available tools they can use,we overview some of the currently publically available OSNs’ datasets and simulation tools and identifywhether they are capable of being used in semantic, topological OSNA, or both. The overview identifiesthat only few datasets includes both data types (semantic and topological) and there are few analysis toolsthat can perform analysis on both data types. Finally paper present a scenario that shows that an integration of semantic and topologic data (hybrid data) in the OSNA is beneficial.\u