Snider Center Launches Social Media Market Dynamics Lab

Social media is reshaping capital markets. It’s driving investor sentiment, trading behavior and market volatility in unprecedented ways. Events like the GameStop short squeeze, meme stock surges, and crypto movements fueled by Reddit, X and TikTok highlight the disruptive power of viral narratives—both genuine and manipulated.

In response, Smith’s new Social Media Market Dynamics (SMMD) Lab provides for students to examine these challenges and opportunities for investors, regulators and policymakers navigating an era of information disorder.

The Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets initiated and operates the lab with support from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), a leading nonprofit specializing in cyber-social threat detection.

Students—both undergraduate and graduate with a minimum 3.0 GPA—gain hands-on experience through internships and research projects, developing skills in data analytics, forecasting and narrative analysis. “This is experiential learning at its finest,” says Ed Snider Center Managing Director Jacqueline Manger. “We’re preparing students to lead in a digital-first financial world.”

Interns gain hands-on experience analyzing social media’s financial impact, learning data analytics, trend forecasting and narrative analysis. They also explore emerging technologies like AI in amplifying these trends.

The lab leverages cutting-edge technology from NCRI subsidiary ChatterFlow to analyze real-time social media data. The result: actionable insights that help safeguard market integrity and inform smarter financial decisions.

Guiding SMMD students is a team of distinguished researchers and instructors who bring deep expertise in social-cyber intelligence, threat analysis and financial systems, including:

• Joel Finkelstein, NCRI co-founder and director is known for leading groundbreaking efforts to detect and forecast online extremism using machine learning. A Princeton-trained neuroscientist, his work on addiction, social behavior and digital threats has earned national recognition.
• Adam Wasserman, SMMD’s internship experience lead, holds degrees in pure and applied mathematics and has taught at Berkeley College and Interboro Institute. He currently manages Group 10 Holdings LLC.

Ed Snider Center Director Rajshree Agarwal calls the lab “a bold step forward in equipping students and policymakers with the tools to navigate today’s complex financial landscape.”

“By supporting the SMMD Lab, we’re investing in research that empowers future leaders to respond proactively to emerging threats and opportunities,” says Narravance CEO Adam Sohn. 

The lab aligns with the Snider Center’s mission to advance interdisciplinary research that supports enterprise and institutional understanding, says Manger. Its work bridges academia and industry, delivering insights to practitioners and the public while offering experiential learning to students, she says.

“Whether you’re interested in fintech, policy, investment strategy or entrepreneurship, the SMMD Lab offers tools and mentorship to help you build real-world skills and make an impact.”