Quantitative vs. Qualitative
The Quantifying Hype Research Project was created to capture the unintelligible concept of hype that breaks disciplinary boundaries (like economics, psychology, sociology, fashion, etc.) and has a vast and deep-rooted existence in sectors like streetwear and cryptocurrency. Early research told us a lot of this had to do with random pop culture and hype, but the more we conducted studies, the more be realized there was much more to it than that. There’s what we would call the “it factor” — an esoteric and unknown concept often attributed to celebrities and new technology startups. Unfortunately, the “it factor,” by its very definition means that trait which cannot be defined. Our mission is to not only understand hype, but eventually quantify it for use in fashion design and cryptocurrency trading.
While undertaking any task to overcome the unknown is difficult, vague, and sometimes not possible with even the best tools and minds, we believe that, at least in certain instances, hype is definable and therefore quantifiable. You might be thinking that even if hype is definable qualitatively, we will not be able to denote a quantitative explanation. My response would be as follows. First, almost anything that is qualitative can be described in quantitative terms. For example, if you say “Wow that lunch was delicious!” we may accept that as a qualitative expression. However, that does not mean the same meaning can be expressed quantitatively. If we define your “lunch” as L = Chicken Sandwich and “delicious” = D as an average score of 7/10 or above on a double-blind test, then we can say that L = D 70% of the time (that one consumes a chicken sandwich). Of course, personal opinion varies from individual to individual, but in lieu of a subjectivity argument, we can conclude that many qualitative aspects can be translated quantitively.
Due to the fact that “hype” is inter-disciplinary, which may mean different things in different contexts, and is extremely arduous simply to define in qualitative terms (seriously go ahead, I’ll wait — it’s hard to describe with mentioning culture/society, psychology, fashion trends, scarcity & economics, and more), multi-level and coordinated research is needed to pin down even one facet of hype. Let’s say its impact on streetwear and streetwear culture. In this case, scarcity certainly has a role as Supreme as created an entire surrounding resale industry, which resells the sold-out products, worth vastly more than the company itself so as to remain in the fashion spotlight. But this attention would not exist if rappers and K-Pop bands did not blatantly advertise Supreme’s merchandise without Supreme even having to pay for it. And the fact that some rapper paid $2000 for a box logo Supreme tee-shirt just to show off only reinforces the rarity of Supreme. In economics, this could be compared to numismatic value, but hype is more complicated than traditional economic models and while it may bear similarity to other concepts there is nothing yet that perfectly sums up hype.
Currently there has been almost no research done into the idea of hype. This means that we have to create all of our own studies, check them for sample bias, and also why our research is so vital and such slow going. Give your input on our Reddit page r/QuantifyingHYPE where you can include/reference source material and speculate on our linked main forum. Because no one person has an answer that can elegantly define hype, any unified theory must include a variety of perspectives. Give us your input via our social media and further this important project.
Once we figure out how hype fits into relevant equations or business models in a quantifiable way, you can be the first to know by subscribing to our Telegram: https://t.me/quanthype, our Discord: https://discord.gg/WVXzfGH3, or our https://chat.whatsapp.com/LbpbF8dRfld7Ygcgudmt5D.
Support us by participating in the movement or helping fund our next study. No amount is too small. Give you input on what we should research at our Reddit, Facebook, and Twitter links below.
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- DOGE: D5q6W5rURNDDqt7ETCdp4i5495Fy4fQwdy
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- MATIC (Polygon Mainnet, MetaMask): 0xbd72eAF484d1d6F50Dbf5766EC1b1219FaF2EDfC
(You should be able to send other currencies to the MetaMask address, but tell us what currency you are sending us so we can add it as a token.)
