Many online merchants today, such as eBay and Amazon, use rating systems empowered by its customers. Is this adequate for determining which products to buy, or which users to trust? Cite examples from these two merchants that support your opinion (whether it is good enough, or inadequate).
I think that rating systems empowered by customers are adequate for determining which products to buy. I searched the Amazon site and checked the ratings people put for “Here Comes Everybody.” There were 54 customer reviews based on a 1 to 5 star rating scale. On the top of the page, it showed the most helpful favorable review vs. the most helpful critical review. It also shows you how many total people found the review helpful. As for eBay, the site provides you with seller ratings. There’s a positive feedback percentage and a feedback score. It also shows you the average rating for the item as described, communication, shipping time, and shipping and handling charges. I found that both of these rating systems for Amazon and eBay as adequate and helpful in determining which products to buy. Amazon is adequate because it shows which reviews are most helpful and how many people agreed. EBay is adequate because it gives separate ratings for different aspects of the sellers and tells you how many people actually rated it. There are a great number of people who posted ratings on the site which makes it more reliable—it’s not like it is just a few opinions. EBay was created on the assumption that people are basically good, and I think that the concept of its rating system has supported that.
Monday, November 30, 2009
The Wisdom of Crowds
James Surowiecki’s book mentioned in this chapter outlines four elements to create a so-called “wise crowd,” one that can make decisions better than experts. These include “diversity of opinion” and “independence.” Since social groups online seem to form crowds of many like-minded people, what caution would you give someone using information they find from a socialized website or resource?
The point of a “wise crowd” is that a diverse collection of independently-deciding individuals is likely to make certain types of decisions and predictions better than individuals or even experts. The key word in that definition is DIVERSE. For this reason, an online social group would not be as reliable in making decisions because it is made up of like-minded people. The caution here is that if people think too much alike then different information will not be considered and errors will not be balanced out. If people in an online social group are conscious of one another's opinions on certain issues, then they will begin to follow each other and conform even more, rather than bring in differing views. Two very important criteria for a wise crowd are diversity and independence. If people are aware of the decisions of others than their opinion could sway and a correct answer could be overlooked. Since this could be the case, if someone is using information that they find from a socialized website, they should be wary of the information they are receiving and may want to check it over with a different type of group.
The point of a “wise crowd” is that a diverse collection of independently-deciding individuals is likely to make certain types of decisions and predictions better than individuals or even experts. The key word in that definition is DIVERSE. For this reason, an online social group would not be as reliable in making decisions because it is made up of like-minded people. The caution here is that if people think too much alike then different information will not be considered and errors will not be balanced out. If people in an online social group are conscious of one another's opinions on certain issues, then they will begin to follow each other and conform even more, rather than bring in differing views. Two very important criteria for a wise crowd are diversity and independence. If people are aware of the decisions of others than their opinion could sway and a correct answer could be overlooked. Since this could be the case, if someone is using information that they find from a socialized website, they should be wary of the information they are receiving and may want to check it over with a different type of group.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Failure for Free
Think back to your experiences in middle and high school. How many opportunities were you given to experiment and “fail” in solving a problem? How could a school work today where students were regularly offered such opportunities?
When I think back to high school and middle school, we were rarely given the opportunity to experiment and fail in problem solving. It’s not like the teachers told us that we could take the test but if we failed then we could just take it again. If this were the case, then nobody would feel the need to study. According to Shirky, the overall effect of failure is its likelihood times its cost. If students are not given the opportunity to experiment and fail, then they would try harder the first time, therefore reducing the likelihood of failure. If a school offered students opportunities to experiment and fail, it would be more expected for students to fail the first time. This would lower the cost of failure because the students would not be expecting to pass. This would be failure for free because it allows the student to learn from their mistakes and try again.
When I think back to high school and middle school, we were rarely given the opportunity to experiment and fail in problem solving. It’s not like the teachers told us that we could take the test but if we failed then we could just take it again. If this were the case, then nobody would feel the need to study. According to Shirky, the overall effect of failure is its likelihood times its cost. If students are not given the opportunity to experiment and fail, then they would try harder the first time, therefore reducing the likelihood of failure. If a school offered students opportunities to experiment and fail, it would be more expected for students to fail the first time. This would lower the cost of failure because the students would not be expecting to pass. This would be failure for free because it allows the student to learn from their mistakes and try again.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
FOAF Networking
What professional benefits do you see by investing time into a FOAF-style network?
FOAF networking stands for “Friend Of A Friend.” It is designed to connect individuals and groups directly with others who share common interests. When you become friends with someone in a network it connects you with their other like-minded friends in that network. As you add friends, your network grows and allows you to interact with your new connections. This FOAF-style network would have benefits in a professional setting because it would allow organizations to spread a message to as many potential volunteers, clients, or nonprofits as possible. It is an easy way for businesses to connect with similar companies in order to thrive in a competitive market. Organizations might also use FOAF to increase visibility and raising awareness. On the other side of the spectrum, FOAF may be beneficial for people trying to find jobs. It is a good way to get your name out there and build a network of personal and professional contacts to help in a job search.
FOAF networking stands for “Friend Of A Friend.” It is designed to connect individuals and groups directly with others who share common interests. When you become friends with someone in a network it connects you with their other like-minded friends in that network. As you add friends, your network grows and allows you to interact with your new connections. This FOAF-style network would have benefits in a professional setting because it would allow organizations to spread a message to as many potential volunteers, clients, or nonprofits as possible. It is an easy way for businesses to connect with similar companies in order to thrive in a competitive market. Organizations might also use FOAF to increase visibility and raising awareness. On the other side of the spectrum, FOAF may be beneficial for people trying to find jobs. It is a good way to get your name out there and build a network of personal and professional contacts to help in a job search.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Distinctions Between Online vs. Print Media
While younger people today may not make distinctions between online and real-world friends according to Shirky, do you make distinctions between online vs. print media? Why or why not? Is there an advantage to one or the other?
According to Shirky, “the internet augments real world social life rather than providing an alternative to it. Instead of becoming a separate cyberspace, our electronic networks are becoming deeply embedded in real life.” What Shirky means by this is that people now have the ability to find each other online, and then meet up in real life. For example, social networks like Meetup.com allow people to search for others depending on interest or location.
When it comes to online vs. print media, a different kind of distinction occurs. These days, people are relying on the internet more than ever. With laptops becoming smaller and thinner, along with the development of phones that can access internet, people are finding new means of obtaining the news rather than print media. Although the information in the Baltimore Sun and the information found at Baltimoresun.com may be identical, people prefer to get information via online sources. It’s not like I hear about something online, and try to locate the first newspaper I can find to look it up. It’s usually the opposite. If I hear that something has happened, I usually search for it online in order to find the quickest answer. So, even though social life online and in the real world is meshing together, I feel that online media is more prevalent while print media is disappearing.
According to Shirky, “the internet augments real world social life rather than providing an alternative to it. Instead of becoming a separate cyberspace, our electronic networks are becoming deeply embedded in real life.” What Shirky means by this is that people now have the ability to find each other online, and then meet up in real life. For example, social networks like Meetup.com allow people to search for others depending on interest or location.
When it comes to online vs. print media, a different kind of distinction occurs. These days, people are relying on the internet more than ever. With laptops becoming smaller and thinner, along with the development of phones that can access internet, people are finding new means of obtaining the news rather than print media. Although the information in the Baltimore Sun and the information found at Baltimoresun.com may be identical, people prefer to get information via online sources. It’s not like I hear about something online, and try to locate the first newspaper I can find to look it up. It’s usually the opposite. If I hear that something has happened, I usually search for it online in order to find the quickest answer. So, even though social life online and in the real world is meshing together, I feel that online media is more prevalent while print media is disappearing.
Prisoner's Dilemma
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?
In a way, auction sites like ebay, are very much like the Prisoner’s Dilemma. The way ebay works is that a person decides that they want to sell something so they create an auction listing. After that, hundreds of potential buyers look at the listing and decide to bid on it. The person with the highest bid obviously wins and receives an email from the seller. This can relate to the Prisoner’s Dilemma because people making bids cannot communicate with one another, this way they may not put a whole lot of trust in one another. There are different possibilities that the bidders can consider:
1. Everyone bids within a reasonable price range, and the highest bid wins,
2. Everyone bids quite low, and the highest bid wins, or
3. Everyone bids within a very high price range, and the highest bid wins.
The Prisoner’s dilemma assumes that people don’t trust each other causing the worst outcome which in this case would be number 3. If someone really wants an item, they will place a very high bid thinking others will do the same. If people don’t trust one another, the bids could keep getting higher and higher until the item is extremely expensive. This is a lose-lose situation because nobody gets the item, and the person who does, spends a lot of money - maybe more than it’s actually worth, depending on the quality of it. I have never personally bought or sold anything on ebay so I’m a little unsure how the site actually works, but if this dilemma is the case then it seems a little risky. From what I’ve heard, I think that the site works, but I’m sure there are events where the bidding gets out of control and people spend more money than they intend to.
In a way, auction sites like ebay, are very much like the Prisoner’s Dilemma. The way ebay works is that a person decides that they want to sell something so they create an auction listing. After that, hundreds of potential buyers look at the listing and decide to bid on it. The person with the highest bid obviously wins and receives an email from the seller. This can relate to the Prisoner’s Dilemma because people making bids cannot communicate with one another, this way they may not put a whole lot of trust in one another. There are different possibilities that the bidders can consider:
1. Everyone bids within a reasonable price range, and the highest bid wins,
2. Everyone bids quite low, and the highest bid wins, or
3. Everyone bids within a very high price range, and the highest bid wins.
The Prisoner’s dilemma assumes that people don’t trust each other causing the worst outcome which in this case would be number 3. If someone really wants an item, they will place a very high bid thinking others will do the same. If people don’t trust one another, the bids could keep getting higher and higher until the item is extremely expensive. This is a lose-lose situation because nobody gets the item, and the person who does, spends a lot of money - maybe more than it’s actually worth, depending on the quality of it. I have never personally bought or sold anything on ebay so I’m a little unsure how the site actually works, but if this dilemma is the case then it seems a little risky. From what I’ve heard, I think that the site works, but I’m sure there are events where the bidding gets out of control and people spend more money than they intend to.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
