Tag: behavioural economics

The 3 Illusions of the Social Media Age

April 23, 2015 Social Influence 1 comment

optical_illusion_11
Don’t let your eyes fool you (courtesy of Tech Whiz)

We’re living in an age of illusions. One where lives are built and destroyed by that perpetually glowing screen in front of us.

Love it or loathe it, the social web is here to stay. We spend so much time online that our entire socio-cultural landscape has shifted in immense and incredible ways. For some, being unplugged for even two hours can be unfathomably torturous.


Social Physics – A New Science of Influence

April 20, 2015 Content Marketing, Social Influence 1 comment

Social Physics Influencer Marketing
Sandy Pentland of MIT (courtesy of MIT)

Why do ideas spread from person to person? How do we marry the worlds of social influence, big data, and behavioural economics?

Enter Social Physics, a concept coined by MIT Professor Alex “Sandy” Pentland. Director of the Human Dynamics Laboratory, Pentland’s book Social Physics: How Good Ideas Spread – The Lessons from New Science proposes a new theory of human social interaction.


Why Prison and Locker Rooms are Pink

March 19, 2014 Business and Management no comments

Why Prison and Locker Rooms are Pink
Pink prisons aren’t just fashionable – they work! (source: The Cairns Post)

Have you wondered why seeing red makes you mad? Or why Apple products are so popular with creative types?

Thanks to a fascinating podcast on Social Triggers Insider, I discovered the answers from social psychologist Adam Alter, author of Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave.


David and Goliath: Book Review

March 5, 2014 Book Reviews 2 comments

 

David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell

Why do underdogs triumph over mightier enemies? How does one turn a weakness into a strength?

In yet another entertaining trip of the intellect, Malcolm Gladwell’s latest volume David and Goliath tackles perennial paradoxes with much aplomb. Written in his usual captivating prose, Gladwell’s book – subtitled Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants – provides one with much food for thought while challenging conventional wisdom.