Characterizing ego-networks using motifs

We assess the potential of network motif profiles to characterize networks in much the same way that a bag-of-words strategy allows text documents to be compared in a vector space framework. This work was originally published in [1].This is potentially valuable as a generic strategy for comparing networks, particularly ego networks, in structural terms. The basic strategy is shown in Figure 1. The motif counts suggest that A and C are structurally similar and B is quite different. The paper considers the computational challenges and model selection decisions involved in network motif profiling. It includes three case-studies concerning the analysis of Wikipedia edit networks, YouTube spam campaigns and peer to peer lending in the Prosper marketplace.