Did Apple Music Miss the Tipping Point?
In early August of 2015 Apple began a worldwide advertising campaign that followed the release of their new music streaming service, Apple Music. Public spaces in cities from San Fransisco to Tokyo to Mexico City to Toronto were adorned with billboards and posters for Apple Music. Apple, noticing the effects of virtual advertising, also changed the banners […]
Tesla As A Cascade
Tesla Motors needs no introduction. The Tesla Model S, Tesla’s only current offering, is highly regarded amongst critics and consumers. However, the automaker has suffered a sizeable setback recently at the hands of Consumer Reports, a website where consumers can find a variety of information about various companies and products, such as safety ratings. Indeed, […]
Cascades, Tipping Points, and Riots
Last year, I read some interesting work by Duncan Watts about riot theory: he suggested that people have different minimum thresholds—inherently and socially—before they’re willing to riot. The idea is that there’s a formula of circumstance and number of people already rioting that will incite newcomers to join the rioters. In the context of networks, […]
The Success of Startups
It is widely accepted that we are in a “golden age” of information and technology. With access to so many services at our fingertips, it is no surprise that each new entrepreneur seeks to establish their permanent position in today’s society. Startups and the business of creating startups has snowballed in the last decade or […]
ISIS and Information Cascades
Information cascade experts are stepping up their efforts to fight the cyber war against ISIS, who has increasingly started using methods of online recruitment. This movement has become very efficient in its social media tactics. This is done by targeting alienated individuals who lack a sense of belonging. CyberSocio Intelligent-Systems Laboratory (CySIS) at Arizona State University […]
Why eBay (Mostly) Rules the Auction Game
Two decades after its creation, the popular auction website eBay has taken the online auction world by storm. For a website that largely relies on its users to perpetuate the content, it is no surprise why eBay is the leading auction website. eBay was one of the first of these auction sites to be created, […]
Social Media in the Wake of the Paris Attacks
This is a difficult topic, but it still needs to be discussed. In the wake of the Paris attacks, social media was the fastest and most widespread method used to get the news out and communicate. The world knew about the events as they unfolded thanks to websites like Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook. With all […]
Popular Restaurants on Yelp
How do you decide where to eat, especially in an unfamiliar place with no friends to give you recommendations? Whether you’re in a big city or a small town, your first instinct is probably to look on Yelp. Finding the “best” places to eat on Yelp is particularly easy for large cities — the top 10 restaurants […]
Predictions of Terrorism
In 2001, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) began a project which aimed to use market-based intelligence techniques to “improve existing approaches to preparing strategic intelligence” called FutureMAP. In that phrasing it sounds like a great idea, why not try to better predict events of terrorism? Two congressmen phrased it a different way, causing […]
Contagious Information
A study published by the Association for Psychological Science has found interesting implications about behavior in social networks. In particular, the study involved the concept of how the distribution of information in a network could influence the spread of certain behaviors. To examine this, researchers used computer simulations of large networks; previous experiments had used […]
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