Open AccessQuantifying Social Influence in an Online Cultural Market
Author(s) -
Coco Krumme,
Manuel Cebrián,
Galen Pickard,
Sandy Pentland
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0033785
Subject(s) - download , normative , process (computing) , psychology , sample (material) , social psychology , computer science , data science , cognitive psychology , world wide web , political science , operating system , chemistry , law , chromatography
We revisit experimental data from an online cultural market in which 14,000 users interact to download songs, and develop a simple model that can explain seemingly complex outcomes. Our results suggest that individual behavior is characterized by a two-step process–the decision to sample and the decision to download a song. Contrary to conventional wisdom, social influence is material to the first step only. The model also identifies the role of placement in mediating social signals, and suggests that in this market with anonymous feedback cues, social influence serves an informational rather than normative role.
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