1. Considering the Prisoner’s Dilemma in this chapter, provide your own insight on how sites such as eBay “work” for most participants of this popular online auction site. Do they really work? Or is there too much risk?
When you compare eBay and the prisoner's dilemma there are four factors to consider. One, when you and the person you are buying from cooperate, you send them the money and they send you the item that you bid on. Two, you send the money to the person, but they do not send you the item. Three, you do not send the money, but the person sends you the item. Four, neither of you send anything so nothing positive or negative happens. For this they still have the item you wanted and you still have your money. Even with these guidelines most people would take further action if they did not receive the final item. There is a rating scale on eBay where you can post any comments about the person and you can rate them. If there are negative comments then this makes the sender look bad and prohibit further sales. On the other hand the person who is sending you the item now has all of your private information so if they did not receive your money for some reason they could potentially find you. Websites like eBay work because the benefits outweigh the negative aspects.
2. What professional benefits do you see by investing some time in a FOAF-style network?
The benefit to FOAF-style network is the social connections or social networking. A friend of a friend can you help you find a job in today's society. Also, having friends on Facebook or Linkedin can help you connect with people in certain companies that you can benefit from. If your work information is displayed on your Facebook profile then anyone can see the information and can potentially refer you to a company. This is useful because creating a profile is easy and allows for connection to be made. These profiles also allow you to see mutual friends, which can be a benefit to you in a larger setting because now you can approach someone and talk to them about mutual people. In the book Shirky talks about playing "dodgeball" a social networking device, which is how he met Andy. This device allowed Shirky to know that they were in the same place at the same time. These networking tools are crucial in today's society where everything is becoming digital. Without having a profile you are limiting yourself to opportunities.
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