How Network Structure Affects Social Creativity

Social computing is bringing about significant changes to the way we operate and interact. The resulting exchange of ideas is seen as key to innovative capacity. While studies have identified various types of network structures, the subject of how different network structures affect performance of a collective has received less attention. This paper uses a model of interacting, capacity-limited cognitive agents to examine how network structure affects social creativity and collective problem solving. The simulation experiments demonstrate differences between random, uniform and small-world networks.