Generating Attribute Similarity Graphs: A User Behavior-Based Approach from Real- Time Microblogging Data on Platform X

Abstract Social network analysis is a powerful tool for understanding various phenomena, but it requires data with explicit connections among users. However, such data is hard to obtain in real-time, especially from platforms like X, commonly known as Twitter, where users share topic-related content rather than personal connections. Therefore, this paper tackles a new problem of building a social network graph in real-time where explicit connections are unavailable. Our methodology is centred around the concept of user similarity as the fundamental basis for establishing connections, suggesting that users with similar characteristics are more likely to form connections. To implement this concept, we extracted easily accessible attributes from the Twitter platform and proposed a novel graph model based on similarity. We also introduce an Attribute-Weighted Euclidean Distance (AWED) to calculate user similarities. We compare the proposed graph with synthetic graphs based on network properties, online social network characteristics, and predictive analysis. The results suggest that the AWED graph provides a more precise representation of the dynamic connections that exist in real-world online social networks, surpassing the inherent constraints of synthetic graphs. We demonstrate that the proposed method of graph construction is simple, flexible, and effective for network analysis tasks.