Monthly Archives: August 2011

Social Networks and Analytics

This article about social networks shows why analytics plays a key role in our advancement. Without it, these folks would have nothing to sell. And we the users could not get the benefits we get from them.  The premise: without analytics, social networks would not add value.

Analytics melds data crunching technology with algorithms to sort through it and discover facts. It’s what IT has always been about– turning data into information. The explosion of data demands more expertise and better software. Just the thing for IT grads to be working on.

MIT Technology Review article

More about waiting line behavior

How do we behave when someone tries to cut into a line? I think an interesting question is whether there are cultural differences.

Are there ways to harness people’s behavior to make them happier in line, or tolerate longer waits?  That can save money too.

Social norms in waiting lines: Waiting or Cutting? « The Operations Room


How do people behave in waiting lines?

Here are some interesting facts about people in waiting lines. In particular, the ER.  Waiting treatment there is legendarily bad, as I can attest from personal experience recently.  How to improve it requires not just analytics, but also some behavioral analysis.

Keeping People from leaving the ER.