The Performance of Distributed News Aggregators

OII DPSN Working Paper No. 9

29 Pages Posted: 8 Jan 2009 Last revised: 19 Jan 2009

See all articles by Wolf Richter

Wolf Richter

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute

Tobias Escher

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute

David A. Bray

Institute for Defense Analyses; Harvard University; Emory University - Goizueta Business School; National Defense University; Forbes Ignite; University of Oxford

Date Written: November 17, 2008

Abstract

Originating as a study of the online news aggregator Digg, which relies on user ratings to determine which articles to put on the frontpage, this study evolved into a comprehensive survey of the online news aggregator space. This case study explores the conditions under which crowds are smart, analyzes the bias of several modes of information aggregation, and shows the risk of mob behaviour.

Keywords: distributed problem solving networks, internet, network, crowd sourcing, news aggregation, mobs, digg, problem solving, organization, knowledge, collaboration, digital networks, information sharing

Suggested Citation

Richter, Wolf and Escher, Tobias and Bray, David A., The Performance of Distributed News Aggregators (November 17, 2008). OII DPSN Working Paper No. 9 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1324462 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1324462

Wolf Richter

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute ( email )

Tobias Escher

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute ( email )

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University of Oxford
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United Kingdom

David A. Bray (Contact Author)

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