Information Spread in a Social Media Age

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Control Application 1: Advertisements and Social Crazes

“Advertisers constantly invent cures to which there is no disease.”

Leonardo da Vinci

This chapter is the first of two chapters that expand upon the optimal control principles learned in previous sections by formulating a practical social media information spread problem and step-by-step work toward an optimal control solution to that problem. The first control application is concerned with social marketing campaigns in an attempt to maintain social media interest in a product, service, or event. The example begins with a description of the problem, including some assumptions, goals, and qualitative parameters that must be addressed. Next, the problem is formulated based on the ...