Social Networks’ Role in Product Adoption
The rise of ChatGPT earlier this year surprised all of us, but the underlying forces driving its popularity are rooted in social networks. I wanted to talk about how brand communities, which are on a smaller scale than social networks, have a significant impact on product adoption. Using network theory, we can see how community […]
History of Nash Equilibrium: Discovery and Use Today
Overview Discovered by American mathematician, John Forbes Nash, Jr., Nash equilibrium is a fundamental concept in game theory that illustrates decision-making in players based on their interactions with others. The main purpose is to optimize a player’s outcome by taking into account other players’ decisions. Nash equilibrium is achieved when neither player—in a two player […]
An Information Cascade Through Reddit
In the era of digitization, the notion of the information cascade is gaining more prominence, and the Reddit online community serves as a captivating illustration. Reddit, an extensive network of forums where individuals exchange news and content, acts as a fertile breeding ground for the dissemination of knowledge. Users’ contributions are subjected to voting, which […]
Networks in Activism
As technology advances, networks and communication continue to evolve and change. The world we experience today is drastically different from the world in which the previous generation grew up. Over the years, the ratio of strong and weak ties that people typically have has shifted. In the past, people generally had a few strong ties, […]
Strong Triadic Close Can Be Dangerous
In the intricate web of social networks, the concept of ‘strong triadic closure’ is a fundamental principle that explains how relationships evolve and solidify. This principle states that if two people have a strong relationship with a mutual friend, they are likely to develop a strong relationship with each other. While this phenomenon fosters community […]
Digital Platforms and Network Effects
I took “Analyzing Digital Platforms” with Professor Michael Maffie, and to my surprise network effects was a huge topic of discussion and revealed to be the foundation of several digital platforms we analyzed. I learned that a platform is a business model that facilitates the exchange of value between two or more user groups, a […]
Self Satisfying Equilibria and Online Shopping!
Recently, while I was shopping for dresses, I noticed that there were many websites that seemingly sold the exact same dress. I would find a dress that I really liked, then after reverse image searching the pictures of the dress, would find that other websites listed the same dress in their catalogs. After attending the […]
Information Cascades in Squid Games Reality TV!
Hi everyone, I would like to discuss information cascades and their application to real life. Information Cascade is a phenomenon described in behavioral economics and network theory in which a number of people make the same decision in a sequential fashion. In class, we learned about this concept using marbles. The game marble game […]
Social media Influencers and Adoption of Behavior
Understanding the conditions under which humans adopt certain behaviors can have an immeasurable impact on the likes of social networking sites, political campaigns, or even simple clothing trends and fads. I’ve particularly been interested in how companies utilize the threshold model to maximize the number of individuals that adopt their targeted behavior, whether it’s buying […]
How concepts of networks translate to real life applications, even space
This has been a great class in showing real life applications of material we learn at school. Through the semester, as we learned more concepts, I began thinking more consciously than before of the role of networks in our everyday settings and personal lives. I used what I learned to challenge myself to think of […]
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