Modeling dependence networks for agent based simulation of online and offline communities

Far from simply being a concept useful in investigating social relationships, social networks are rapidly becoming a diffuse phenomenon to deal with in everyday life. The goal of this paper is to provide insights from the design research perspective, both for online and offline communities. Starting from the idea that the phenomenon under investigation emerges from the interaction of autonomous agents in an environment in which other agents interact with each other in order to reach their own goals, we adopt a Multi-Agent Simulation (MAS) approach to study social networks dynamics of online and offline communities. In particular, we built an agent-based simulation of dependence networks, considered crucial for the interaction of cognitive agents and for the exchange of resources between them. As results we have been able both to better define some hypotheses on dependence networks dynamics and to highlight possible future research particularly useful for the design of digital platforms.