Title: Evaluating Roles of Central Users in Online Communication Networks: A Case Study of #PanamaLeaks,
Abstract: Social media has changed the ways of communication, where everyone is
equipped with the power to express their opinions to others in online
discussion platforms. Previously, a number of stud- ies have been presented to
identify opinion leaders in online discussion networks. Feng ("Are you
connected? Evaluating information cascade in online discussion about the
#RaceTogether campaign", Computers in Human Behavior, 2016) identified five
types of central users and their communication patterns in an online
communication network of a limited time span. However, to trace the change in
communication pattern, a long-term analysis is required. In this study, we
critically analyzed framework presented by Feng based on five types of central
users in online communication network and their communication pattern in a
long-term manner. We take another case study presented by Udnor et al.
("Determining social media impact on the politics of developing countries using
social network analytics", Program, 2016) to further understand the dynamics as
well as to perform validation . Results indicate that there may not exist all
of these central users in an online communication network in a long-term
manner. Furthermore, we discuss the changing positions of opinion leaders and
their power to keep isolates interested in an online discussion network.