A study of cryptocurrency markets provides some new insight into why people make the choices they do online. Crypto-currency traders used bots that executed over 100,000 small trades in 217 cryptocurrencies over the course of six months. Analysis reveals that traders are very susceptible to peer influences. The design of the online exchanges also appears to contribute to activity if functionality, graphical user interfaces, or application programming interfaces promote collective excitement.

Sports analytics first proved its case on the field and in the front office, but as the practice spreads into business operations, the industry is addressing adoption challenges found in many sectors. At the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, speakers from teams and leagues discussed how they are using analytics to boost revenue, and how they’re managing transitions in culture and strategy.

In the wake of documented Russian manipulation of the U.S. election via disinformation campaigns on social media platforms, digital platform companies like Facebook and Twitter need to take concrete steps to prevent misuse.

Too often, companies with products that have alternative potential markets miss their opportunity: Either they fail to see the possibility of alternative markets, or they simply lack the will to do the necessary groundwork to explore the opportunity. Leveraging existing technology for new uses can be tricky, but the return is greater profit and a revitalized business model.

At the same time that many traditional retailers are closing offline stores, digitally native vertical brands such as Bonobos and Warby Parker are aggressively expanding into offline locations. And both online and offline retailers are converging in experience-oriented “showrooms.”

Launching a peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing platform is not easy. Online support forums have two distinct segments: those who seek product support, and those who provide it. Knowledge seekers are hesitant to ask questions if knowledge contributors are few and far between, and knowledge contributors will not sign up if there are not enough problems to solve. It is a classic chicken or egg challenge that can be effectively addressed by seeding the platform with expert knowledge.

Use #MITSMRChat to join MIT SMR on March 1, 2018, at 11 a.m. EST for an interactive Twitter chat on the challenge — and the opportunity — of engaging customers through sophisticated uses of analytics.

In this webinar, Cornell University’s Sheryl E. Kimes discusses the expectations disconnect between companies and customers over self-service technologies.

Today’s retailers need to adopt a data-driven view — with the goal of understanding how website features and advances in AI will affect consumer behavior.

The worldwide population of seniors is growing rapidly. So why are tech companies ignoring them? An excerpt from The Longevity Economy highlights the opportunities in catering to older adults.

The sharing economy isn’t all bad news for manufacturers of big-ticket items such as cars. Research from Carnegie Mellon and UC Berkeley says that manufacturers will sometimes be able to charge higher prices to customers who are planning to rent out those goods. In a Q&A, one researcher says that when there’s heterogeneity in the market, meaning both a high-usage population and a low-usage population, circumstances are ripe for “a win-win-win for the borrower, the owner, and the manufacturer.”

Traditionally, big energy companies focused primarily on power generation, not customer-centricity. But that’s changing — and today’s digitally empowered customers have opinions about everything from where their energy should come from to when their bills should arrive. Lynn Good, CEO of Duke Energy Corp., reflects on guiding her company through this transformation.

Identifying the optimal prices for products was once a time-consuming process. That’s changing as businesses start to take advantage of advances in machine learning, increases in computing speed, and greater availability of data.

Much as relationships in social networks have been analyzed to understand and influence how ideas flow among people, researchers wondered whether it might be possible to use the structure of product recommendation networks online to understand or influence how demand flows among products. The short answer is yes, and the implications for marketers are important.

Echo chambers — that is, exposure to information that closely mimics our own experiences and points of view — are burgeoning. In the online world, personalization algorithms lead to even more personalization over time. New research that looked at the way people navigate through videos of TED Talks highlights which types of people are most at risk for falling into extreme echo chambers. The research also suggests ways organizations can help content viewers navigate the noise.

While Big Data allows personalized service, collecting detailed data about real people (rightly) often raises concerns. But can analytics be used to improve security?

Anindya Ghose, Heinz Riehl Chair Professor of Business at New York University’s Stern School of Business, is one of the pioneering explorers of the intersection of mobile and marketing. In his new book, Tap, he collects his findings and weaves them together into a set of nine forces that marketers can wield to drive sales via mobile technologies.