A Strong and Weak Ties Feedback-Based Trust Model in Multimedia Social Networks

The multimedia social network (MSN), a combination of the multimedia sharing technology and social network, has prominent social features and diffusion characteristics. Owing to its centerlessness and lack of regulation, MSNs have some serious network environment problems, such as spread of negative digital content and serious data redundancy. To solve the above problems, this paper proposes a strong and weak ties feedback-based trust model in MSNs on the basis of the Weak Ties Theory of sociology. This model evaluates the trust level from two different aspects, multimedia content and user behaviors, and computes the reputation value by the Bayesian estimation principle and the damped window mechanism. On the basis of the trust model, we establish a trust-based information dissemination model in MSNs to study the relationship between trust and digital content dissemination. Simulation results indicate that the trust model is reliable in design, valid in network transmission, and effective in resisting malicious feedback and collusive attacks, enables positive digital data to spread rapidly and widely, and limits the dissemination of negative content.