Week 3: Superstar Effect - Cumulative Advantage

Question 1

If success isn’t a function of quality, what is it a function of?

Answer 1

It is from consensus

Question 2

Explain how success is a quality of consensus

Answer 2

When we have access to how many people have approved of something (e.g. downloads of a song), we assume that the person before us knew something we didn’t. This causes us to listen to it even though we have no prior knowledge.

Therefore, success is NOT the result of convex returns (i.e. choosing the best), as Rosen believed

Question 3

What is the accurate model for the superstar effect?

Answer 3

Information cascades and network externalities

Question 4

Information cascades meaning

Answer 4

popularity increases perceived quality

e.g. findings in the superstar effect reading

Question 5

Network externalities meaning

Answer 5

the benefit of talking to others about a specific media that comes from choosing it

*the more popular something becomes, the more useful it gets

e.g. talking about Game of Thrones with a co-worker in order to build a connection

Question 6

What does the addiction goods model (Adler’s model) imply?

Answer 6

conversation increases the pleasure of art

Question 7

What does the network externalities model imply?

Answer 7

art increases pleasure of conversation

Question 8

Cumulative Advantage

Answer 8

the more popular you are, the more popular you get (in regards to media), causing inequality to grow over time