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Flow of innovation in deviantArt: following artists on an online social network site

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Abstract

Computer and communication technologies created new modes of creating and sharing arts. In this paper, we apply ‘diffusion of innovation’ theory to investigate how artistic content travels in an online social network site called deviantArt, a site designed for sharing user-generated artworks. We first define what innovation corresponds to in such a context, and then discuss how it can be measured with the help of network, image and text analysis methods. We propose to use user-shared resources as relatively easy targets of tracking innovation.

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Notes

  1. SNS are defined as web-based services for users to construct a public or private profile and to connect with other users in a bounded system (Boyd and Ellison 2007). In this sense, dA resembles SNS as it offers basic services to its users, and it creates a community structure. However, dA works like a blog-sphere as well (see Adar et al. 2004 on blogging), as each dA member is bestowed a website on his/her own.

  2. http://pascallin.ecs.soton.ac.uk/challenges/VOC/voc2012/index.html.

  3. http://wordnet.princeton.edu/.

  4. See Akdag Salah (2010b) for a description on how the promotion mechanism works.

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Acknowledgments

This research is supported by Bogazici University BAP-6531 project and a Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek NWO-VENI grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. New Media Studies, UvA, Turfdraagsterpad 9, 1012 XT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Alkim Almila Akdag Salah

  2. Visual Art and Communication Design, Sabancı University, Orhanlı, Tuzla, 34956, Istanbul, Turkey

    Alkim Almila Akdag Salah

  3. Department of Computer Engineering, Boğaziçi University, Bebek, 34342, Istanbul, Turkey

    Albert Ali Salah

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  1. Alkim Almila Akdag Salah
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  2. Albert Ali Salah
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Correspondence to Alkim Almila Akdag Salah.

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Akdag Salah, A.A., Salah, A.A. Flow of innovation in deviantArt: following artists on an online social network site. Mind Soc 12, 137–149 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11299-013-0113-9

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