Stop Online Piracy Act
Debate is currently raging over HR 3261, the Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA). Internet titans such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Zynga, and Mozilla recently placed a full page ad in the New York Times arguing that it will “pose a serious risk to … innovation and job creation.” Conversely, the Business Software Alliance, which includes […]
European Bonds
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/19/business/global/lenders-flee-debt-of-european-nations-and-banks.html?_r=1&ref=business As the economic crisis in Europe continues to worsen, uneasy investors are beginning to dump the debt of European governments and banks faster than ever. Many financial institutions are creating new issues in economically weak European countries such as Spain and Italy as the begin to dump their assets in European debt. Even […]
The Silly Bandz Phenomenon
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/family/articles/2010/06/03/silly_bands_the_newest_toy_trend_are_cute_cheap_and_out_of_control/ In 2008, Silly Bandz were released in the United States. Today they are one of the most popular fashion accessories amongst all ages and social groups. The cause of this rapid growth was information cascading. “The most interesting thing about this phenomenon is that it’s 100 percent viral. There’s no marketing.’’ -Michael Lewis, the CEO of […]
Skyrim and Steam: An Efficient Cascade
Bethesda Softworks produces several highly popular single player role playing games. The success of their last generation of games has prompted a great deal of hype for their newest release: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Much of the sales of this title were made over an online social networking and videogame sales service – “Steam”. I […]
Game Theory and the 1994 Shell Carribean Cup
Source: http://www.snopes.com/sports/soccer/barbados.asp The year is 1994, the setting is the Shell Carribean Cup. Greneda is playing against Barbados in the final match of the group round of the tournament. In order to move on in the tournament, Barbados needs to win by two goals, if they fail to do this then instead Greneda will […]
Tablets: the Next Generation of Computing?
As you may have acknowledged, Tablets have been rapid growing in its presence. The release of Barnes and Noble new Nook added to the gigantic pool of existing tablets: Kindle Fire, Galaxy Tab… the endless list continues. Manufactures seem to realize that consumers are no longer satisfied with the size and weight of modern laptops. […]
Market Bubbles as a Result of Information Cascades
We all know the phenomenon of market bubbles. The price of a good (or stock) rises and continues to rise to an unreasonable, unsustainable price until the bubble bursts and the price falls back down to a much lower level. There have been housing bubbles, stock bubbles (including the dot-com bubble of the 1990s), and […]
Spamming, Facebook, and Disincentives
Over the last few weeks, Facebook has been the subject of various major spam attempts. One major issue is the size of the website, which hinders the ability of Facebook itself to monitor the spam attempts and their sources. Grouping Facebook users into two categories, there are some interesting effects that come out from its […]
Direct-Effect Benefits and Information Cascades of Xbox Live
http://www.itproportal.com/2011/11/14/xbox-live-gaining-new-member-every-two-seconds/ In this article it was reported that Microsoft’s Xbox Live gains one new member every 2 seconds. Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming service made for use on the Xbox 360 video game console. Both the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live are creations of Microsoft. A user of Xbox Live can connect to […]
The Silicon Valley Cascade
Reading this article really got me thinking. Why are so many startups in Silicon Valley? It seems like many founders of startups these days have an urge, rather a need, to be in the Valley. The reasons are numerous, but how do people outside of the area decide that they need to move over […]
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