Thursday, November 15, 2012
Developing a Social Welfare Curve
The focus in the first few classes this semester had a theme of efficiency vs. equality. We discussed how it is simply impossible to compile the collective feelings of an entire populous. I would argue however, that such a thing may be possible in the future through computer analysis like that described in this article. When social networks become popular throughout all generations could supercomputers be able to take the temperature of the entire U.S? What would this mean for the way we look at the economy?
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ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting article! This just goes to show how much technology is capable of. Its happening, we are officially living in the Jetsons era!
ReplyDeleteMy only concern is that people use various social media sites for different reasons. For example, I use my Facebook account without restriction to connect with friends and family. On the other hand, my twitter account is not used to express my personal thoughts, but rather used as quick news source. I can’t remember the last time I actually tweeted. Though there might be some obvious shortcomings in terms of who is using what social media outlets, this technology can open up amazing opportunities. Collecting data accessed through tweets brings a whole new aspect to data mining. I can see how this technology can be used by private businesses looking to get to know their consumers better as well as the government attempting to meet the needs of citizens.
This is some really cool stuff, no doubt about it. As the article mentions at the very end, I could definitely see this type of technology used in the advertisment industry. Companies would be able to pinpoint specific places across the country to do business in that would maximize their success. It would definitely help out companies in the efficiency department.
ReplyDeleteIt is really interesting to see the advancements of technology. It just a couple of years, social media has become a leading source for not only communication but for businesses as well. There are already some business that use facebook to advertise deals and even offer discounts by clicking the like button. I can definitely see these methods expanding much more, it would really improve the system and be more efficient.
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