Analyzing event stream dynamics in two-mode networks: An exploratory analysis of private communication in a question and answer community

Information about social networks can often be collected as event stream data. However, most methods in social network analysis are defined for static network snapshots or for panel data. We propose an actor oriented Markov process framework to analyze the structural dynamics in event streams. Estimated parameters are similar to what is known from exponential random graph models or stochastic actor oriented models as implemented in SIENA. We apply the methodology on a question and answer web community and show how the relevance of different kinds of one- and two-mode network structures can be tested using a new software.

► We propose a new Markov process model for social network analyses of event streams. ► We analyze the dynamics of private message writing in a web community. ► A new software was applied that allows to conduct such analyses in a very flexible way. ► Two- and one-mode network structures were used as predictors for the choice of event receivers.