Pinar Yildirim, an Associate Professor of Marketing and Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, explores intriguing topics surrounding social media's evolution and its societal impacts. She discusses how platforms like Twitter transforming into X affects content moderation and user engagement. The conversation dives into the creation of echo chambers in social networks and the challenges of user retention for platforms such as Facebook and TikTok. Pinar also highlights the delicate balance between freedom of expression and user safety in today's digital landscape.
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insights INSIGHT
Platforms As Matchmakers
Platforms act primarily as matchmakers that reduce search costs and help different user groups identify and transact with each other.
They then enable trust-building and transaction mechanisms so parties feel comfortable completing exchanges.
insights INSIGHT
Content Moderation Shapes Platform Health
Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter led to reduced content moderation, user departures, and advertiser concerns about brand safety.
These shifts harmed engagement and advertising revenue even if politically purposeful for the owner.
insights INSIGHT
Revenue Sources Affect Moderation
A platform's revenue model (ads vs subscriptions) strongly influences content moderation incentives.
Advertisers push for broader audiences and safer content while subscribers pay for personally appealing content, including extremes.
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Bio: Pinar Yildirim is an Associate Professor of Marketing (with tenure) at the Wharton School and an Associate Professor of Economics (secondary) at the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Economics. Her research focuses on media, technology, and information economics, particularly on the economics of online platforms, social and economic networks, political economy, and the impact of technology and AI on organizations and societal dynamics. Her work has been published in top journals such as American Economic Review, Marketing Science, and Journal of Marketing Research. She is also an area editor at International Journal of Research in Marketing (IJRM) and serves on the editorial boards of Marketing Science and *Journal of Marketing Research.
Summary: In this episode, Pinar delves into the definition and evolution of platforms, emphasizing their role as matchmakers that reduce search costs and facilitate transactions between different user groups. The conversation also explores recent developments in social media, such as Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter (now X), content moderation, and the fragmentation of social networks.
Key Discussion Points:
Defining Platforms: Pinar explains how platforms are defined, including their role as stages for multiple companies to grow and as matchmakers connecting diverse user groups.
Platform Evolution: The discussion highlights how platforms have evolved to reduce search costs and enable transactions between user groups.
Content Moderation: Pinar discusses the importance of content moderation and its impact on user engagement and advertising revenue, particularly in light of Elon Musk's approach to content moderation on X.
Revenue Models and Content Moderation: The podcast explores the interplay between revenue sources (advertising vs. subscriptions) and content moderation policies, and how they influence user behavior.
Fragmentation of Social Media: The episode examines the trend of users building echo chambers by joining platforms with varying content moderation policies.
Interoperability: The potential of interoperability as a regulatory tool to manage the emergence of diverse social media platforms is considered.
Social Evolution of Platforms: The natural social evolution in social media platforms and strategies companies can adopt to manage arising challenges.
Algorithms: Platforms create algorithms to ensure users are not necessarily interacting with all of their connections.
Publications & Projects Mentioned:
Halaburda, H., Piskorski, M. J., & Yildirim, P. (2018). Competing by restricting choice: The case of matching platforms. Management Science, 64(8), 3574-3594.
Liu, Y., Yildirim, P., & Zhang, Z. J. (2022). Implications of revenue models and technology for content moderation strategies. Marketing Science, 41(4), 831-847.
Petrova, M., Sen, A., & Yildirim, P. (2021). Social media and political contributions: The impact of new technology on political competition. Management Science, 67(5), 2997-3021.
Yildirim, P., Gal-Or, E., & Geylani, T. (2013). User-generated content and bias in news media. Management Science, 59(12), 2655-2666.
Talking about Platforms 