So Long to the Long Tail?
As we saw in class, long tail distributions are a good way to model the kinds of products purchased by consumers– the majority of the goods demanded by consumers is comprised of many niche products, rather than a few mainstream items. Indeed, many large businesses today were created (and prospered) by taking advantage of the […]
Network effect, data network effect and their implications
In class, we talk that the some of these products have network effect. As more people use them and they have more values, even more people will willing to pay the price for them, and vice versa. Classic examples can be Facebook and cell-phones. In this blog, the author introduce a specific kind of network […]
The role of Information Cascades in the Arab Spring
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2014/06/13/what-really-made-the-arab-uprisings-contagious/ Information cascades can lead to an array of different outcomes ranging from people all choosing the same messaging app to complete political regime changes. In an article in the Washington Post, cited above, Merouan Mekouar provides evidence and reasoning for why certain information cascades spread across and in between countries and how some led to […]
The Problem of Inequality
Inequality is a very prevalent problem in today’s society not just here in the U.S. but also in many countries all around the world. For example, Israel has seen a large increase in the distribution of the standard of living over the past 20 years. When looking at the empirical statistics, such as the Gini […]
Did filter bubbles allow Trump to win the presidency?
I want to talk about the election of Donald Trump last week. Everyone was shocked that he won – Trump was leading in 1 out of 10 polls the day before the election, giving him a slim margin to win. Even the renowned Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight only gave him a 29% chance of winning […]
The Google Pixel and Information Cascade
http://www.gsmarena.com/google_pixel-review-1518.php http://www.trustedreviews.com/google-pixel-review The new Google Pixel is out and reviewers are raving. Highly respected tech bloggers and phone reviewers saying it’s the best Android phone ever. Google is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into advertising this product. They are dead set on fighting to gain ground in this market place and we aren’t sure if it’s […]
Reaching Critical Mass for Internet Privacy
There’s no doubt that as soon as a concept reaches a critical mass, its influence can sway individuals not from the merit of the concept alone but simply from the prevalence of the concept found within the public-info-sphere. One such concept is discussed in the article, “Encrypted email sign-ups instantly double in wake of Trump […]
Biological Information Cascades
Information cascades are not limited to technology or social networks, they occur in nature as well. For example, in order for cells to make decisions such as if they should divide, where they should divide, or where they should migrate, cells must receive signals from the environment to make these decisions. However, in order for […]
Network Effects in the Healthcare Industry
The network effect is taking place in the healthcare internet slowly by surely as a growing platform of providers and patients is connected node-by-node through various forms of technology. Three dimensions of the network effect are set to transform the healthcare sector: administrative automation, network knowledge, and resource orchestration. Administration automation is the process of […]
Information Cascades and Beanie Babies
Beanie Babies are a line of floppy stuffed animals from Ty Inc. that were one of the largest fads of the 1990s. While admittedly adorable, it is hard to understand why these stuffed animals were able to become such a craze in a time where many other toy companies were struggling. Beanie Babies started off […]
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