Is it a good idea to encourage ALL employees to trade in these markets? Should insiders and/or highly uninformed people be allowed to trade? Do they help or hurt the market?
The entire notion behind GPM is one that is supposed to involve everyone; however, this fact should be taken into account when analyzing the results of marketplace predictions. If highly informed individuals are allowed to trade, then obviously they will play a role in establishing the probabilities of outcomes. However, in addition to the knowledgable individuals who have an effect, there will also be the uninformed individuals who will serve to offset that effect and "recenter" the marketplace predictions. Just as in any situation, the more information a person possesses regarding possible outcomes in any situation, then the more educated their prediction will be and probably will more closely represent the truth. As the number of individuals trade grows larger, the beneficial or detrimental effect those with "insider information" as well as those who are clueless ultimately levy on the trade market will lessen, and in turn a representation of the overall majority of traders' predictions will be presented. Therefore, the more employees and people who trade, the better in my opinion.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Threadless: Crowdsourcing and Online Communities
In what other industries or areas would Threadless’ community-driven product development model work well? And not so well?
Threadless' community-driven product product development model is a good idea, but it is one that needs to be carefully applied in order for a business to realize any sort of success as a result. The apparel industry is obviously an area where this type of model has a chance to prove successful as there exist a myriad of different styles and looks that appeal to wide-range of individuals with varying tastes. Other similar industries such as shoes, bags, hats, or other clothing accessories, or even other products in which the inventory costs are relatively low could also reap the benefits of allowing the community to vote on individual designs that are all applied to basically the type of "canvas". The key to keeping this approach a viable one is to allow the community to feel that their creativeness has a true outlet. For this reason, I do not believe the Threadless product development model would work for situations where a customizable "canvas" is not the basis of the product. I also do not think the individual contributors to Threadless' products would feel about them venturing into retail stores.
Threadless' community-driven product product development model is a good idea, but it is one that needs to be carefully applied in order for a business to realize any sort of success as a result. The apparel industry is obviously an area where this type of model has a chance to prove successful as there exist a myriad of different styles and looks that appeal to wide-range of individuals with varying tastes. Other similar industries such as shoes, bags, hats, or other clothing accessories, or even other products in which the inventory costs are relatively low could also reap the benefits of allowing the community to vote on individual designs that are all applied to basically the type of "canvas". The key to keeping this approach a viable one is to allow the community to feel that their creativeness has a true outlet. For this reason, I do not believe the Threadless product development model would work for situations where a customizable "canvas" is not the basis of the product. I also do not think the individual contributors to Threadless' products would feel about them venturing into retail stores.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
LinkedIn & Differences in Social Network Audiences
Online social networks have become ubiquitous in the past few years. What forms of value do users get from these services and who is most likely to sign up on LinkedIn versus other sites?
Individuals extract different types of value from various social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn depending on what type of audience the networking site is geared toward. For instance, the person who actively manages their LinkedIn profile may do so for a completely different reason than the person who Saves the Rainforests one tree at time on Facebook. Moreover, the person who actively manages their MySpace profile may do so for a completely different reason as well. What are the differences and similarities between the social networking sites and how do individuals find different values based on the different sites?
LinkedIn's target audience is the individual who wants to connect socially for the purpose of extending their network in the business world perhaps to keep in contact with former coworkers or even to search out a new job. LinkedIn also has built in features that allow job recruiters to seek out potential hires who's experience and skillset may fit the needs of a position they are attempting to staff. The value that is offered via the LinkedIn site is greatly different that the value that is found in sites like MySpace and Facebook.
MySpace was originally a social networking site that was geared toward to fledgling bands who were looking for a medium to provide their music with the exposure they needed to hopefully make it big; however, it rapidly evolved into a site that was mainly used by individuals to build a network of friends, whether they were real friends or just cyber friends looking for someone else who had the same interests. I, for one, used MySpace to try to track down old schoolmates for my Ten Year High School Reunion. Without the site there were definitely some people who would not have been located.
Lastly, Facebook is now probably the most ubiquitous of all the social networking sites as the site's managers were forward-thinking enough to allow individuals to not only create a network of friends online, but also enable "techies" to build applications that interfaced with the Facebook backend. Facebook is somewhat similar to MySpace, but has taken the world of social networking to whole new level by not only giving the Abercrombie & Fitch wearing college student an online place to meet new friends and maintain existing relationships, but also a place for your mother and grandmother to find old pen pals.
Individuals extract different types of value from various social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn depending on what type of audience the networking site is geared toward. For instance, the person who actively manages their LinkedIn profile may do so for a completely different reason than the person who Saves the Rainforests one tree at time on Facebook. Moreover, the person who actively manages their MySpace profile may do so for a completely different reason as well. What are the differences and similarities between the social networking sites and how do individuals find different values based on the different sites?
LinkedIn's target audience is the individual who wants to connect socially for the purpose of extending their network in the business world perhaps to keep in contact with former coworkers or even to search out a new job. LinkedIn also has built in features that allow job recruiters to seek out potential hires who's experience and skillset may fit the needs of a position they are attempting to staff. The value that is offered via the LinkedIn site is greatly different that the value that is found in sites like MySpace and Facebook.
MySpace was originally a social networking site that was geared toward to fledgling bands who were looking for a medium to provide their music with the exposure they needed to hopefully make it big; however, it rapidly evolved into a site that was mainly used by individuals to build a network of friends, whether they were real friends or just cyber friends looking for someone else who had the same interests. I, for one, used MySpace to try to track down old schoolmates for my Ten Year High School Reunion. Without the site there were definitely some people who would not have been located.
Lastly, Facebook is now probably the most ubiquitous of all the social networking sites as the site's managers were forward-thinking enough to allow individuals to not only create a network of friends online, but also enable "techies" to build applications that interfaced with the Facebook backend. Facebook is somewhat similar to MySpace, but has taken the world of social networking to whole new level by not only giving the Abercrombie & Fitch wearing college student an online place to meet new friends and maintain existing relationships, but also a place for your mother and grandmother to find old pen pals.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Wikipedia: Built In Quality Control Process
How do Wikipedia’s processes for creating and modifying articles ever lead to high-quality results?
There is the risk that inaccurate and invalid information could be posted in Wikipedia articles for others to read; nevertheless, this risk is mitigated by the fact that there is very little incentive for individuals to post incorrect information as others will quickly correct it or remove it. The entire premise behind Wikipedia is to provide quality information in a timely manner while keeping the information free from inaccuracies. The fact that Wikipedia "archives" older versions of it's articles enables them to allow anyone to create and modify articles, while simultaneously reducing the amount of bad information available to the public. The quality control process in place behind Wikipedia is such that since everyone has privileges to create and modify articles, individual contributors public will police themselves in order to keep their own work reputable and preserves the integrity of Wikipedia.
There is the risk that inaccurate and invalid information could be posted in Wikipedia articles for others to read; nevertheless, this risk is mitigated by the fact that there is very little incentive for individuals to post incorrect information as others will quickly correct it or remove it. The entire premise behind Wikipedia is to provide quality information in a timely manner while keeping the information free from inaccuracies. The fact that Wikipedia "archives" older versions of it's articles enables them to allow anyone to create and modify articles, while simultaneously reducing the amount of bad information available to the public. The quality control process in place behind Wikipedia is such that since everyone has privileges to create and modify articles, individual contributors public will police themselves in order to keep their own work reputable and preserves the integrity of Wikipedia.
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