The title is a little misleading. The authors consider the implications of another model of diffusion; they don't validate that this model is more applicable to

The title is a little misleading. The authors consider the implications of another model of diffusion; they don't validate that this model is more applicable to Reddit or Digg. These models in themselves are interesting; they have surprising results that can be used to build our intuition, but the hard part is establishing empirical validity. Many of the consequences that are listed in the article as being ones of a 'game theory model' vs an 'epidemic model' have been seen in previous models, which were also more complex than simple epidemic spread. Some of the previous work by Centola on 'complex contagions', which require several exposures, before adoption, also yield very similar consequences. A very readable paper: http://dcentola.net/Centola%20and%20Macy%20Complex%20Contagion.pdf http://dcentola.net/Centola%20and%20Macy%20Complex%20Contagi... This material is relevant when considering how to build your viral loop, target advertising, etc.