I recently read an article that dealt with the question: What makes a song, a hit song? It was an attempt to make an unpredictable market a little more, well...predictable. What they found was people are more likely to like a song that they believe other people like. There was a study involving over 14,000 people. They did the study twice. They separated everybody and played them some new songs that they would most likely be unfamiliar with. They were separated into groups. One group was an independent group which was tested individually with no knowledge of each others selections. There were eight other groups with about 700 people each. These groups were chosen based on various social influences. Also, each person within a group could see which songs were being given good ratings and being downloaded by other people within the group. What they found was certain songs were likely to be downloaded more once others in the group started downloading the song. In the independent group, the same songs did not gain the same popularity.
We live in a society where hype can sway a majority. It was obvious in high school, students waiting just long enough to see if the cool kids liked an idea or fashion statement before committing their own opinion. The media is a powerful tool to influence public opinion. If we see on TV that the rest of the country likes a certain TV show, sports team, or even political stance, we are inclined to make our opinions based on that. Not necessarily following the trend, as some make a point of going against the trend. Regardless, the opinion hinges on the opinion of others.
I can't speak much of how the U.S.S.R. did its business or how it treated its people. But I can tell you the American sentiment on communism. Americans in general hate communism, and get all hot and bothered when you suggest that you or they are communists. I know a particular sports talk radio personality that calls anybody that doesn't agree with him a Socialist. Where a dumb jock gets off throwing around political terms is beyond me, but I won't get into that. I will remind you that I am not a communist, I am an anarchist. But I think the main reason communism is so hated is because countries that have practiced it have also threatened to bomb the U.S. Or at least that's what the media reports say. I don't want to argue the validity of the Cold War, I want to point out that it was not communism that was threatening the U.S. It was Russia, and North Korea, and sometimes China. Luckily we got China off our backs by letting them manufacture just about everything and anything you will find in our discount stores.
I just ask that you as an American, or you as a human being realize the difference between hype and reality. If you want to believe that songs are better because you know a lot of other people that like them, then you have to realize we as humans are important to each other. We need each other because when it comes down to it, the whole human race is one. Nothing in this world relies solely on your actions, and nothing you do will affect only you. If you choose to leave a comment, please try to think of something you can do that undeniably will not affect another human being. Even masturbating in private can affect others. Somebody you might have run into had you not been hiding away pleasuring yourself, or one sperm that could have been a genius coupled with the right egg. That being said, remember that what you do is important in this world, and you wouldn't be where you were if it wasn't for the collective efforts of millions of human beings before you.
I used to have the link for the article, but it has since been pulled.
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