VCG Procedure and Facebook
In class we have been talking about the VCG procedure and how it can be used by companies to figure out which ad slots should go to which companies. The example company we have been using in class thus far is Google. However, Google is not the only company which uses this algorithm to figure […]
Dualing Auctions
We have been discussing various types of auctions for a while now in class, but in all of the examples we have studied, it has always been one seller and multiple buyers. Sometimes the seller is selling multiple items, sometimes only one, but it’s always been one seller. In this short blog article by Jensen […]
Information cascade in online reading
Many technologies like Kindle or iPads are really shifting our reading experiences from a bundle of papers to some taps on the digital screens. Along with this development of information technology, how information itself plays a role in the online reading experiences or choices-making process is really interesting. In the past, when we headed to […]
Imposter Syndrome and Bayes’ Rule
At Cornell, many students are no stranger to imposter syndrome- the feeling that they are inadequate or don’t belong. This is especially true for students from first-generation low-income backgrounds. Students coming from lower socioeconomic backgrounds do not have the same resources that other students do and experience different familial dynamics that shape their self-confidence and […]
Why Doesn’t Google Use VCG?
After learning about VCG and GSP auctions in class, I was interested to find out why some of the big tech companies, like Facebook, use VCG auctions to sell ad slots, while others, like Google, use GSP. In the paper linked below, The VCG Auction in Theory and Practice, the Chief Economist at Google, Hal […]
Violent Video Games, School Shooters, & Information Cascades
Often, the finger of blame is put on violent video games, as opposed to larger societal issues and policy, when school shootings occur. As the show Adam Ruins Everything discusses, no link has been found between violent video game usage and real world violence. The only exception to this are minimal increases of short term […]
How the Information Cascade Works in a Fake Celebrity Prank
The concept of the information cascade can explain social phenomena like social conformity and groupthink. An information cascade occurs when there’s a group of people who are basing their decisions off of what they observe others are doing. It happens in a sequential manner, and every person has to decide whether to trust their own […]
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