Social Network Strategies for Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse

Jennifer Golbeck

The Problem

Taxonomy of Zombies

Slow, dumb zombies Night of the Living Dead

Medium speed, slightly aware zombies Walking Dead

Fast, angry zombies 28 Days Later (We’re all toast)

Surviving with Social Network Analysis

Social Network Analysis has lessons about how things spread in social networks

Important during the apocalypse: Zombinism Information

Day 1Day 2Day 3Day 4Day 5Day 6Day 7Day 8 Day 1Day 2Day 3Day 4Day 5Day 6Day 7Day 8

500 randomly chosen users 500 most active users

Spread of Zombinism

Tie Strength

Strong ties: close friends and family

Weak ties: acquaintances

Actual Midterm Question

When the zombie epidemic begins, you and your family (or family equivalent) want to avoid joining the ranks of the living dead. Aside from proper weapon choice and proper physical and mental preparation, how would you apply your knowledge of social networks to optimize your chances of survival? Briefly describe your strategy and list at least three reasons along with the network phenomena or structural features that support them. (10 points)

If for some reason I need to leave my house (perhaps to go save my mother or to grab a drink at the Winchester)...

This means I would not go near the President, Lady Gaga, or Charlie Sheen right now.

While it is true that many innocent may fall victim to sword, shotgun, chainsaw, and weed-whacking vigilantes...

I love you, and good luck. Now leave me alone.

While the diversity of skills and backgrounds of a heterogeneous group makes for good action movies, networking principals show that weak ties are less trustworthy than strong ties, so chances are I’ll be betrayed by a guy with a gun. Or a hot girl.

Chances are that one of your strong ties has already fallen by the time the Apocalypse is in full swing, so the next time you step into the kitchen with your brother-in-law, goodbye life. The rich get richer: the zombies are winning. Their nodes are collecting edges the way flypaper collects flies in an outhouse.

BUT WAIT!

What about information? That spreads best on weak ties, too!

Video

Conclusions Physically separate from weak ties

Keep information channels open with weak ties

And also... Cardio The double tap Beware of

bathrooms Seatbelts

Questions

golbeck@cs.umd.edu

http://www.cs.umd.edu/~golbeck