Social group utility maximization game with applications in mobile social networks

In this paper, we develop a social group utility maximization game model that takes into account both social relationships and physical coupling among users. Specifically, instead of maximizing one´s individual utility, each user aims to maximize its social group utility that hinges heavily on its social ties with other users. A salient feature of this model is that it spans the continuum space between non-cooperative game and network utility maximization - two extreme paradigms based on drastically different assumptions that users are selfish and altruistic, respectively. Based on this model, we study two important applications in mobile social networks: random access control and power control, and quantify the impact of social ties on users´ strategies and network efficiency. In particular, our results show that, as the strength of social ties increases from the minimum to the maximum, the social-aware Nash equilibrium strategy of a player in this model migrates from the Nash equilibrium strategy in a standard non-cooperative game to the social-optimal strategy in network utility maximization. Therefore, the proposed social group utility maximization game model offers a general framework that encompasses non-cooperative game and network utility maximization as special cases, and we believe that it will open a new door to exploring the impact of social behavior on networking.