Cross-pollination dynamics of web-based social media: An application of insect-mediated pollen transfer

Abstract

We propose a model of cross-pollination among online social media (OSM) websites, where the dynamics of user interactions mimic insect-mediated pollen transfer by pollinators. A pollinator acts as a vehicle enabling users to visit multiple social media sites -- akin to visiting different plants in the same field -- within a single browsing session. This approach frames geitonogamy in self-incompatible plant species as analogous to the distribution of web traffic across the social media landscape. A theoretical pollinator, allowing users to choose among social media sites multiple times per trip, drives uneven increases in web traffic across platforms, disproportionately benefiting the largest social networks while providing tangible competitive advantages to smaller OSMs. This heterogeneous landscape fosters monopolistic competition among niche platforms, incentivizing smaller sites to promote cross-pollination despite the larger relative gains to their bigger competitors. Our findings underscore the broader value of cross-platform user engagement, highlighting how cross-pollination dynamics can intensify network effects and bolster interconnectivity. Cross pollination via new pass-through apps facilitates the movement of attention, deepening and distributing engagement across multiple destinations. As pass-through apps gain traction, their disproportionate impact on traffic to social media platforms will incentivize social media platforms, large and small, to embrace cross-pollination dynamics.