FOAF network

What professional benefits do you see by investing some time in a FOAF-style network?


FOAF networks or Friend of a Friend network are becoming a staple of society today by allowing individuals to communicate with one another and establish connections with one another.  FOAF network sites like facebook and linkedin have created benefits for both companies as well as individuals.  Companies have the ability to expand their customer and interest base through such social networks, hopefully resulting in more popularity and revenue.  From and individuals standpoint the use of FOAF networks develops constant contact, user may be connecting with friends and from there they may begin to communicate with a friend of a friend building their own social network and possibly/hopefully expanding their professional career.  To some it may seem far fetched but there is a possibility that certain FOAF networks can lead to an individual being discovered and gaining a job in a desired field.  FOAF networks do not ensure any results, but in this day and age it can't hurt because there is little downside to presenting yourself through a FOAF network.

EBAY and Trust

Considering the Prisoner’s Dilemma in this chapter, provide your own insight on how sites such as eBay “work” for most participants of this popular online auction site. Do they really work? Or is there too much risk?


The prisoners dilemma is based on trust, trust that the other individual will not give you up and ultimately allow for the most favorable outcome for both individuals.  For many this is a hard concept because there is a possibility that the other person may blame you, which would result in one individual getting off scott free while the other endures all the punishment.  EBAY in a sense works the same way, at least in regards to the trust factor; Ebay is a live auction that poses buyers and sellers together.  Buyers seek to purchase a good at a cheap price while sellers look to get the most money for their good.  If a price goes to high certain buyers will stop bidding because it is not in their best interest to go any higher.  These laws of economics require that buyers and seller work together much like in the prisoners dilemma to achieve the best result for both individuals.  However there happen to be other trust issues associated with ebay.  Sellers must trust that buyers will pay for what they won and buyers must trust that sellers will send them what they had won.  I personally have used ebay before and though my experiences have tended to be good on a few occasions the seller did not send me the item and ultimately resulting in me losing money.  For certain individuals ebay is a big risk and therefore they do not use it, but for others that are trustworthy ebay can be a goldmine as long as everyone works together, which promotes the best results.

information cascade

Look deeper into the concept of a “information cascade.” Can you cite an example of where following the actions of others was a sound idea? Where doing so ended up being a poor choice?

Information cascade describes when a person or a group of people observe an individual doing something and from there they take up those same actions.  Shirky shared awareness/information cascade in chapter 7 describing the three basic principles of shared awareness.  One of the most famous examples of information cascade is the fall of the Berlin Wall, the wall that separated East and West Germany after World War 2 the wall still remained intact only to stir up protest from individuals.  These protest grew larger and larger each day until finally in 1989 the wall came down by the hands of these very individuals.  The idea of poor information cascade is the when a protest is seized and dismantled by the government or by authorities when a small number of people begin to protest and eventually become arrested or worse injured or dead because of their actions.   

Technology and revolution

Based on the quote from this chapter, ““revolution doesn’t happen when society adopts new technologies--it happens when society adopts new behaviors,” do you agree or disagree? Cite examples to support your position.


I agree with Shirky's statement that revolution doesn't happen until a society adopts a new behavior.  Technology is ever growing becoming faster, smaller, lighter and more user friendly such growth in technology drives individual desires to own a a piece of technology.  However this does not start any sort of revolution it is when a certain technology becomes part of the society and part of individual behaviors that a revolution is created.  When a certain form of technology essentially becomes life part of life itself is when revolution is created.  This revolution if from an individuals norms and past behaviors because some sort of technology allows for the process to be done much more easily.  In today's society it seems as though social networks such as facebook and twitter are changing people's behaviors.  Never before did individuals spend countless hours examining pictures, status' and wall posts, but in today's society it has become a norm a revolution has occurred changed the social aspect of our society.  Shirky makes a reference to e-mail in chapter 6, and how email changed society and its behaviors.  When email was developed there was no more need for postcards or hand written letters email was the new technology that allowed individuals to communicate with one another.  Furthermore email was far superior to sending anything by mail because it was faster and more inexpensive.  Therefore it is not the development of a new technology that begins a revolution but rather the adoption of new behaviors.

Mental transaction

Explain and give an example of a mental transaction cost.

a mental transaction cost is when an individual is making a purchase, but has varying thoughts enter into their head whether the purchase they are about to make is necessary or worth it at the current moment.  Mental transactions occur on a regular basis for many individuals, especially when people in today's society are trying to save money.  This goes along with the number "zero", when an item is free there is not any mental transactions simply because there is no costs associated with a free item.  Mental transactions are present every day for most individuals making changes to daily purchases and activities, many times without the individual realizing such transactions are being made.

zero

Why is “zero” such a hot-button word?

Zero is such a hot topic issue because zero is much more then just a number, because it has psychological implications on individuals.  Regardless of quality of the said good an individuals reaction to a "free" item changes, something that you may not normally buy changes simply because now it does not cost you anything.  This is evident in Chris Anderson's book "Free" the experiment was selling chocolate; swiss chocolate for 15 cents and Hershey kisses for a penny.  Initially the swiss chocolates sold better because they"re better.  However when the price was dropped a cent, making the kisses free sales immediately changed.  Simply because the kisses were free, they sold more even though there were of a lesser quality they took there psychological effect on the individual, which made them choose the free item.  Most people are always seeking to save money therefore the lesser priced item will usually win out, and when something is free most individuals cannot resist because there is no cost for them.