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Model image: This diagram shows the evolution of the largest network of Telenor iPhone users over time. Each node represents one subscriber, and its color indicates the model used. In this case, red equals 2G, green means 3G, and yellow means 3GS.
Telenor
Cell-phone networks have some of the best data for developing such ideas about how to target marketing campaigns, says Cristophe Van den Bulte, an associate professor of marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania who uses social-network analysis to study the diffusion of products.
"They have clean, relevant data because people don't make calls to just anyone," he explains. "Other network connections can be close to meaningless--for example, my relationships with my Facebook friends."
One possible avenue for further research would be to identify which people are most able to persuade their connections to adopt a new product, Van den Bulte says. He has tried to study such patterns in the way doctors choose medical products. Alternatively, instead of trying to find trendsetters, he says, "you may actually want to target people connected to others that are easy to influence. That's an approach that needs to be looked at more."
Privacy regulations could be an obstacle. The Telenor data had to be "anonymized," or stripped of identifying information, before the researchers could use it. Privacy law in Europe in particular could make it hard, Van den Bulte says, for wireless companies there to sell marketing insights based on social-network analysis to other companies.
Carriers are turning to sophisticated data analytics to give better service to high-paying customers.
A snapshot of our activities, cell phone data attracts both academics and industry researchers.
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