Look deeper into the concept of a “information cascade.” Can you cite an example of where following the actions of others was a sound idea? Where doing so ended up being a poor choice?
The basic idea of "information cascade" is that someone notices something that another person or group is doing. After seeing those actions they then make the same choice, or take the same action as the other person or group. The idea of protesting the East German government after World War II is an example of this information cascade. A small group started a small protest every Monday. Overtime more people noticed these gathering and decided to join after seeing no response from the government, because of the groups overall lack of numbers. Each week the number grew. Once the government realized they needed to make a change and stop the group, it was much too large. The protests were then a success and the East German Government resigned.
Many times joining a group like this is a successful venture. When there is little chance of failure or receiving punishment more people are willing to join. People like to be comfortable in what they do, especially low risk high reward situations, like in East Germany. Another more positive example is the idea of Relay for Life in the fight against cancer. Relay for Life began when one man decided to run for 24 hours straight to raise money for his local cancer society office, he raised $27,000. People saw what he had done and liked it so they then began running with him in teams to raise money. Eventually the word spread and now we have relay for life events once a year in thousands of locations around the country. I attend the local relay for life in my city and as a event we raise over 1 million dollars every year. Millions of people followed the lead of one man the create an event to raise millions of dollars to fight cancer! This is a great positive outlook on an information cascade.
Another example of an information cascade could be a strike. Union workers start talking amongst themselves about higher pay and working less hours. Then a small group decides to try and force the subject with the company by not working. Other people may see the cause, realize they want the same thing and follow suit. This idea could spread through the company and maybe achieve their goals, but many times not. Companies can crush strikes by acting when they are still small. Threatening to fire those workers who strike and simply continuing work without them could cause the strike to fail. My dad works for the Newport News Shipyard and was hired when workers went on strike in the mid 1980's. The shipyard simply continued as a company allowing those who went on strike to not get paid and eventually loose their jobs because of the strike. This is an example of where following the ideas of a small group may not pay off.
Information cascade is a phenomenon that can produce both positive and negative effects depending on the topic spreading. Just like good and bad news a groups can spread ideas rapidly. Whether good or bad it is not to hard to find members to join your cause, even if they regret it in the end.
http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/about
good examples!
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