spreadiin

Spreadiin is a term used in discussions of information diffusion to describe a metric for how quickly and broadly content propagates within a social network or online platform. It is a neologism that appears in research notes and industry blogs, but there is no universally accepted standard definition or calculation. In general, spreadiin refers to the combined effects of reach, speed, and sustained engagement as content moves from initial sharers to later viewers.

Measurement and modeling: Spreadiin can be quantified in different ways. A common approach defines it as the average number of new adopters generated by each adopter within a specified time window, analogous to reproduction numbers in epidemiology. Another approach treats spreadiin as the time-dependent rate of growth in the cumulative number of unique participants who have seen or engaged with the content. Estimation relies on platform event data or controlled simulations and may require deduplication to avoid counting the same user multiple times.

Variants and considerations: Some discussions distinguish high-velocity spreadiin, with rapid early growth followed by plateau, from long-tail spreadiin, where growth persists over extended periods. Factors affecting spreadiin include network topology, user incentives, platform ranking algorithms, content quality, and external events.

Applications and limitations: Researchers and marketers use spreadiin concepts to compare virality across campaigns, forecast potential reach, and study information cascades. Limitations include data access, algorithmic changes, and the presence of bots or coordinated inauthentic behavior. The concept remains evolving and not standardized.