Structure of growing social networks - art. no. 046132

We propose some simple models of the growth of social networks, based on th ree general principles: (1) meetings take place between pairs of individual s at a rate that is high if a pair has one or more mutual friends and low o therwise; (2) acquaintances between pairs of individuals who rarely meet de cay over time; (3) there is an upper limit on the number of friendships an individual can maintain. Using computer simulations, we find that models th at incorporate all of these features reproduce many of the features of real social networks, including high levels of clustering or network transitivi ty and strong community structure in which individuals have more links to o thers within their community than to individuals from other communities.