A new small-world network model for instant messaging chat network

Abstract

Numerous real-world systems can be described by complex network models, and now the phenomenon of small-world is very common and widespread in many real networks. Over the last several years, instant messaging chat has been developing in a strikingly fast pace, which has the features different from those of the two classical small-world networks, WS and NW network models. To better describe the instant messaging chat network, we here present an algorithm for building a new small-world network model by combining the two classic small-world networks. Then the properties of the new small-world network are illustrated. By showing some numerical simulation results and comparing the new model with WS and NW small-world networks, it is demonstrated that our new small-world network model may get closer to the real instant messaging chat network.