Formation and Evolution Mechanisms in Online Network of Students: The Vkontakte Case

The mechanisms of real-world social network formation and evolution are one of the most important topics in the field of network science. In this study we collect data about the development of the Vkontakte (a popular Russian social networking site) network of first-year students at a Russian university. We analyze the network formation process from the moment of network establishing until its stabilization. Using Conditional Uniform Graph Test, we compare the graph-level indices of the observed network with random same-size networks that were generated according to random, preferential attachment, and small-world algorithms. We propose two explanatory mechanisms of online network growth: the connected component attachment mechanism and the brokerage mechanism.