Web 2.0 products try to offer a new dimension of the Internet besides the glossy buttons and big, clean fonts : social network that connects relationships. David Sacks, the founder and CEO of new start up Geni says in his article from TechCrunch that sharing information with others is an evolution from basic search. He […]

http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=20
Http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/reporters_without_borders_the_internets_black_holes?size=_original
 
In 1985 the non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders was formed in Montpellier, France.  The organization’s initial goal was to promote alternative news agencies.  After a period of infighting amongst the founders, the goal ultimately shifted to promoting “ the right to freedom of opinion and expression.”  RWB calls upon several documents, including the Universal Declaration […]

http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2007/0507/124.html
The above article by Lyor Cohen, American Chairman and CEO of Recorded Music for Warner Music Group, details the elements necessary to be able to make rap superstars. Cohen didn’t always work for Warner Music Group, he got his start as a club promoter, eventually DMC’s road manager, manager of Rush Management, and eventually […]

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/berman/P4S3.htm

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/game-evolutionary/
Evolutionary game theory brings a mathematical tool to analyze the concept of evolution and survival of the fittest. The websites above question the rigidity of game theory when applied to the biological or cultural side of evolution. Using the prisoner’s dilemma as a model for behavior implies that there is an intrinsic selfishness in […]

How did we go from a strong housing market and the low interest rates to $200 billion total loss in financial institutions? Why is it that “bubbles” repeatedly form in the economy and inevitably burst?

Image taken from CagleCartoons.com 
Whether the system you are looking at is a financial network of banks or an ecosystem of organisms, there are similarities […]

In his paper, “Social Networks, Civil Society, and the Prospects for Consolidating Russia’s Democratic Transition” (2001), James Gibson uses the concept of social networks to explain how strong and weak ties between individuals can facilitate the democratization process in Russia.
The literature on civil society suggests that democracy requires high levels of public association between individuals […]

Social Games and Strategies for Winning
We have learnt much about Network Exchange Theory in class and it’s significance in determining the actual and perceived balance of powers within a network by virtue of the node positions. Network Exchange Theory clearly elucidates that a situation of an individual spanning structural holes and having more opportunities for […]

On homework 3 there was a question about rational and irrational behavior of players in a game and how they influence each other. This on-line discussion reminded me of this problem and how game theory can be evolved over time to take various factors into account. The discussion can be found at: http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2008/01/logic-of-life-.html. The discussion […]

As the Democratic primary wears on, followers of the news have been inundated with reports about the special, uncommitted delegates who may end up playing a critical role in the nomination. These 796 “superdelegates” are national party members and elected officials who have been under intense media scrutiny and campaigns’ pressures to endorse. In a […]

A few lectures ago when we started talking about power in networks and how certain nodes can have more power than others, I was reminded about a book that forms a central part of the literature that my thesis uses.  The book in question is Albert O. Hirschman’s National Power and the Structure of Foreign Trade […]