The group is studying complexity in all forms -- social networks, electrical grids and contagion.
Is anyone studying the complexity of the rise and fall of mainstream media and the expansion of the blogisphere? Is there a relationship? How are ideas spreading between the two?
I have to admit that for a while I believed the delicious tidbit that Sarah Palin believed Africa to be a country. Now, turns out, it ain't true, as much as we'd like it to be. What's interesting is how quickly the fake factoid spread from a bogus blog into respected outlets such as MSNBC and the Los Angeles Times.
From the New York Times article:
But most of Eisenstadt’s victims have been bloggers, a reflection of the sloppy speed at which any tidbit, no matter how specious, can bounce around the Internet.But one issue to ponder, given that this article blames blogging "sloppy speed," is whether the damage was done by the power of thousands of blogs or just a few mainstream media outlets? Or simply by the FF (fake factoid) being spread by word of mouth? Most people probably heard the Africa canard repeated by at least a dozen friends that week.
