Android vs iOS: Clusters and Cascades
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/04/20/iphone-ownership-all-time-high-us/ This post shows the progression of iPhone usage in the US along with charts to physically see the increase. Looking at smartphone platform usage, iOS has increased from 25% in 2010 to 43% in 2016. While the chart shows the considerable increase in use of iOS over the years it also shows a considerable […]
Do I Follow My Friends or the Crowd?
Lee, Y., Kosanagar, K., & Tan, Y. (2015). Do I Follow My Friends or the Crowd?: Information Cascades in Online Movie Ratings. Management Science, 61(9), 2241-2258. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.2082. When deciding on whether or not to watch a movie online via a streaming service or physically going to the movies, a person is likely to look out for […]
Fake news, ranking algorithms and information cascades
https://www.ft.com/content/6973e6d6-d047-11e7-9dbb-291a884dd8c6 This article is about fake news circulating on social media websites. Specifically, the article refers to criticisms of Facebook, Google and Twitter in the wake of the October Las Vegas shooting for circulating misinformation, such as the idea that the shooter was very left-wing or connected to ISIS (both unsubstantiated at the time and […]
Why a school beats Facebook: how behaviors spread through networks
Article: Why a school beats Facebook: how behaviors spread through networks This article discusses a study where scientists compare the spread of social behaviors through two general types of networks: one where individuals are connected to others spread throughout the network and another where the individuals are usually connected in clusters. While disease transmission seemed […]
Bitcoin’s Rise is a Model for Cascading Behavior
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/bitcoin-hits-new-high-on-wider-acceptance-cm882683 Bitcoin, the most well-known of “cryptocurrencies,” recently hit a record high valuation of $10,000 per coin. The currency has had a long and shaky journey to this point – created in 2009 by an enigmatic “Satoshi Nakamoto,” the currency has for much of its lifespan been a mysterious, and at times notorious, concept. Given […]
Uber’s Pricing Strategies
Uber’s service represents an archetypal matching problem. Drivers need to be matched with a customer in order to drive and make money. Customers need to be matched with a driver to be able to reach their destination. Recently, Uber has begun exploring possible ways to bring in more revenue. One strategy that has stirred a […]
Social Networks: Predicting and Modeling Tipping Points
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/4/e1501158.full This paper discusses how information can be diffused through social networks and what causes the tipping point that leads to a cascade. It looks at how social media provides an opportunity to look at what causes social phenomena. Specifically, the authors of the paper “consider an information theoretical approach to define and measure the […]
The Victim’s Dilemma
With all reports of sexual assault in Hollywood in the news recently, there has been massive support for the victims and their bravery for coming forward. But, because this is the internet, there are also plenty of people questioning the victims’ decisions to come forward years later. I’ve seen lots of blog posts on here […]
Social Media and the Spread of Harmful Ideas
In the USA Today article, “Social media threat: People learned to survive disease, we can handle Twitter,” Glenn Reynolds relates the spread of disease and ideas in the 21st Century. Reynolds begins by discussing the rapid spread of disease when cities first developed. When humans transitioned from small independent hunters and gatherers to centralized communities, […]
OUYA: A Market for Lemons Approach
http://www.fortune.com/2015/04/28/exclusive-gaming-startup-ouya-needs-to-find-a-buyer-quickly/ Buyers expect something: good, bad, or lemon. In the case of the OUYA, an android-based micro console, the expectations were very high and then they went very sour. The OUYA was funded via KickStarter. Originally asking for $950,000, the OUYA managed to raise over 8.5 million dollars from 63,000 backers. With the amount of […]
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