September 2009 Archives

A new MIT study was published discrediting some of what we may believe in "the wisdom of the crowds."  The idea is that a small group of users that share a large number of reviews can distort the quality of the reviews.  I haven't read The Wisdom of Crowds (though I just downloaded the book through Audible to listen later).  I also have Crowdsourcing (saved for later listening) where the book discusses that innovation happens by opening data and resources to a large group of people.

I'm interested in the idea of crowdsourcing (or even the collective wisdom of a large group), but I immediately see its flaws.  We're often easily influenced by the reviews on Amazon or other sites, but how many of us actually go back and post our own later?  I know I don't do it very often and don't have the time.  I've started adding a few reviews to Yelp or TripAdvisor, but to add a quality review does take some thought and feels like work (actually I cheat and use the same review to post at both, Yelp is my favorite and TripAdvisor seems to be most popular). 

Another flaw to the crowd based review system is that many people normally don't contribute unless they really like something or really hate something.  In most cases people probably post reviews based on negative experiences and not so much on positive ones.  We are not really motivated to post a review of something we feel sort of neutral on.  When this happens what we then see is the extreme ends of the review.  This may not always be beneficial to somebody reading a review if the reviewer is showing any amount of bias through their thoughts.  We know from statistics that outliers exist in every situation, this really isn't any different for online recommender systems.

I think there's some slight nuances between the "wisdom of crowds" and crowdsourcing though.  A good example of a "crowdsourced" phenomenon is Wikipedia.  A couple of posts have suggested that only about 1%-2% of the users are actually editing articles.  The same sort of thing is going on here, a small number of users are contributing a very large amount of content.  What's the real difference then?  Wikipedia is a community in itself, and it attracts passionate users.  Since when have we ever thought of the reviews on Amazon contributed by passionate community members?  Wikipedia is actually harnessing the "wisdom" of its users (even if they are a few).  The community is also managed in a way to eliminate bias (at least the best it can... a librarian like myself will say don't use Wikipedia as your only source, but I stand by what it tries to accomplish).  There is actually quality stuff in Wikipedia!

Both Wikipedia and Amazon rely on crowdsourcing for content, they both are integral in explaining the Long Tail, except that where passionate users on Wikipedia can be found editing in Wikipedia, the niche markets around products sold in Amazon exist elsewhere on the web.  Let's say you're into a band, then maybe you're posting your thoughts and reviews on their MySpace or Facebook pages instead.  Conversations are happening on another platform, and then they go to Amazon to purchase (or iTunes, or wherever).  What's left on Amazon is a filtered view in a way.  Niche markets like niche tools, and Amazon is too mainstream... besides, if we really like something, we don't want to tell the world, we just want to tell our friends.

There have been some attempts by a few services to focus on improving user reviews.  Some companies have thought to remove the outlier reviews from their recommender systems (remove the best and the worst and focus on the bulk in the middle).  Others have been fine tuning their systems to focus on the user and how they compare to other users with the same interests.  Both are a step in the right direction, but I think they're also missing a key component and that is the network.

There's a lot of great services out there that people just don't use.  For example, I'm on Yelp (and do use it), but I only have a few "friends" on there.  When I'm really stuck on where to go I usually turn to Twitter for help, this is where my network is.  Other people may do the same but go to Facebook, or whatever service their network mostly communicates.  If I'm going to proclaim that I really really like something I'm going to do it on Twitter... what if Yelp (or some other relevant service) could parse from my Twitter stream that I was at a certain place (which they could tell because I checked in via Brightkite), and then that I thought the food was really good, but the service was incredibly slow (of course based on my excessive complaining about service and praise of meal in some succession of tweets).  Boom, instant review.

Ok, I realize I'm now in the fuzzy, abstract world of the Semantic Web, but it could happen.  Actually I believe it will happen (that's another blog post a few years down the road, I hope).  We're sharing the information, but we're doing it the way we've always done it, in conversation, word of mouth, and with our friends.  There's wisdom out there, in large groups and small groups, I think you just have to know where to look for it.

I've been thinking about the actual amount of media I've been consuming recently and it occurred to me just how much I switch between different types without much thought.  I think this is a sign of the times.

First let me point out that I no longer have a television.  My internet access has also been limited, so outside of the occasional download, television is really not an integral part of my media consumption.  Though that will likely change with the addition of unlimited broadband in my life, when I do watch a television program it's usually online and I may revert to catching up with the shows I can through my computer.

My music listening has also decreased.  I can't use my Rhapsody account here (so I had to cancel it), and prefer not to stream music over a limited internet connection, but that may also change with the addition of unlimited internet access.

I didn't realize just how many books I had started reading at once until I went through them in my head yesterday.  The current count is three.  Before I started school that was my average, but I read them slowly in print form.  My three books are all in different formats and accessed in different situations.  I'm reading one book on my iPhone through the Kindle application.  I don't mind reading on the small screen, I'm currently on my second book with the Kindle app.  I tend to read the Kindle book while I'm having a quick lunch or coffee on the go, or have more than a few minutes of a wait to spare.

I've always been a huge fan of audio books, and I'm pleased that my Audible account still works in the UK.  I find audio books are good when I'm on the train or the bus, it also makes the trip go by faster (or too short if you're listening to a good book).

I've even started to read novels in paperback form again.  I found a local coffee shop that had a large stack of BookCrossing books and picked a few free ones out of there.  I have a theory that not having continuous access to the internet is really what has increased my paperback reading, but given that I'm already enjoying two other books I don't feel that guilty about that.

I subscribe to a number of podcasts, both audio and video.  It was always really difficult to keep on top of podcasts before, but I find that it's enjoyable to catch up on them while I'm walking around the city.  It can be up to a 20 minute walk one way, depending on my destination, and that's enough time to get in one or two podcasts.

One of the few times I like to watch television is when I'm cooking dinner (and eating dinner too I guess).  I think it's something I've kept from when I was younger (the only times we ever really watched television in our home was during those times).  For that reason I've set up some video podcasts to run while I'm cooking, though sometimes I listen to podcasts or audio books then too.

The amazing thing is that even without a constant connection to the internet and no television I still have access to an incredible amount of media.  I haven't even got into how I may occasionally grab a print magazine or newspaper (yes, there's still something nice about reading print magazine, though never been a fan of messing with newspapers).  I've even gone to a few movies at the theatre.

I see this all as a good thing.  Book publishing is on a huge increase, not a decrease.  The amount of new information created every year is increased by terabytes.  How we consume media has to change in order to keep up with that increase and the demand.

Well, hopefully I don't cry today, but looking back on the past year crying seems to always be a possibility.  I know, it's been a long time since I updated this blog.  I'm still here, tweeting mostly.  No excuses this time, it really is a motivation thing.  Today I'm 32.  I feel older every year, not just older, but tired and worn down.  I know I'm not really old, but the back pain tells me something different.  The back pain really is the only thing I can count on every year for my birthday anyway.  This isn't meant to be a sad post (more matter of fact really), but it's been a turbulent year and I figure there's no reason to pretend like it hasn't been.  I suppose if things had been happier this past year then there would've been more blogging and less tears.

I'm not the kind of person that really cares for these retrospective sorts of moments though.  I get nostalgic sometimes, but I've always felt that what happens happens.  It's a survival mechanism.  You can't change the past.  This year has been good and bad in many different doses.  If there's one thing I should be grateful for is the blank canvas I have in front of me.  It is weird getting to this point in life where you finally know what you want, but then not sure if you'll ever get it.  There's a reason why I never make plans, they never work out that way.

When I last left this blog I was actually moving from Ann Arbor to Detroit.  I spent an entire six months in Detroit and didn't blog once.  I somehow fell in love with a city that people love to hate.  I miss it there, but not enough to move back.  I love the people, I love the Bronx (best burgers), and I love Motor City Brewing (best beer and pizza).  Detroit taught me an important lesson though, and that is that things aren't always what they seem on the surface (sounds really cliché, huh?  Well, it's true).

I didn't know what I would think of Detroit when I moved there, I moved there because it was close to one job and rent was cheap.  I never expected to enjoy living there, but that's what happened.  I tell people I'm from Detroit, though I'm really from Toledo, I'm proud of being from both places.  I'm also happy to have lived in Ann Arbor for so long.  I've met some incredible people along the way there, and the journey only continues.

I'm in Birmingham, in the United Kingdom now.  I love the UK too.  Birmingham is a wonderful city, and not unlike Detroit, people tend to think otherwise.  There's some subtle similarities between the two cities (meant in a good way actually), but there's definitely some differences.  The biggest difference is that Birmingham is not as desolate as Detroit.  Detroit has pockets life here and there, but Birmingham has a thriving city center and an amazing amount of shopping crammed into a small space.  I like being here because I can walk anywhere and shop for just about anything. 

I think Birmingham is what Detroit could be, maybe someday in my lifetime.  Birmingham, was the original center of industry, while Detroit clings to its automotive roots.  Where Birmingham gets it right is that it keeps rebuilding itself into something new.  I would love to see good things for Detroit too.  There's a heart and soul to Detroit that you can't detect from the bleak news that comes out of it.  It's difficult to explain but I'm sad to leave but glad I did.  I know it doesn't help Detroit to flee, but life is difficult enough as it is on its own.

I've wanted to be in a city for a long time.  I don't miss my car.  I don't even miss my things (currently packed away in a garage in Toledo).  To be honest I don't miss much about the US.  Things are just different.  Not better, not worse, just different.  I enjoy wandering the city (except for Saturday, there's way too many people here on Saturday).  About every other day I go out for a walk around now familiar Birmingham roads and shopping centers.  I like to go to the markets at the Bull Ring, and especially into the meat markets inside.  I like the activity and the bustle and the cheap stuff.  I like walking around and listening to podcasts on my iPod (I'm finally catching up).  I'm getting used to traffic coming at me from the wrong direction at insane speeds.  I spend some time shopping in the grocery stores.  It's a little like an anthropological exercise for me.  Grocery shopping is different here and I prefer it.  Because I'm walking everywhere I don't do all of my shopping all at once.  Things seem fresher.  Notably, vegetables are cheaper.  For anything considered "healthier" in the US expect to pay way more money for it.  The reason why obesity is a problem in the US is because it's cheaper.  I enjoy being able to cook again too so it's nice to find fresh food a short walk away.

I will try to blog and write more.  I can't get online as much I want yet, but writing can be done offline.  It helps sort through the things in my head, which is pretty scary at the moment.

I don't know what's in store for the next year.  I would like to say more blogging and less tears.  I would like to say a lot of things for certain, but I can't.  Well, that is except for more back pain.  Another year done, and another new chapter to write.  So, Happy Birthday to me... knowing that birthday wishes do not always come true, but we do what we can.