http://newsroom.eworldwire.com/view_release.php?id=16672

The problems caused by information cascades are clearly exemplified in the case of popular websites that display videos submitted by web-users for viewing by the general public. Most of these sites allow users to rank the videos, which are then sorted based on these ranks and the number of times they were viewed. The idea is that the most entertaining, or “best” in some way shape or form, videos will be ranked higher and will be more accessible to casual viewers of the site. However, the linked article mentions that there is an intrinsic problem with this system. If the first one or few viewers gives a certain video a high ranking, even if the video is poor or not of interest to most of the general public, the video will achieve a high ranking. This will cause more and more people to watch the video until a full-blown information cascade has developed. This ultimately could lead to situations where poor videos have been viewed far more times than superior videos.

In order to tackle this problem, a company called CrowdRules has devised a system in which they organize people together into “crowds” and select videos for people in the crowds to watch. All ratings are kept private from others in the crowd, meaning one voter is unable to see any other voter’s rating for any video, and each video is rated the same number of times. The results are compiled, and a cumulative ranking is formulated free of the detrimental effects of information cascades.

While the above case of on-line video ratings is inconsequential in the large scheme of society’s problems today, the solution proposed by CrowdRules could be applicable to situations that are more important. Information cascades can cause significant problems in political elections if a few people spread positive words about a candidate who is unqualified or unfit for the job. To fix this problem, certain individuals could interview all candidates early in the process and rank them individually such that their perceptions do not depend on what others say or believe about a certain candidate. This solution essentially is an extension of that used by CrowdRules for ranking video games, and presents a potential solution to a more imporant problem.