"The Riff" with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg

E37: 2024 Election Updates, Partisanship on Wikipedia, and Amazon’s Media Business

Jul 18, 2024

The hosts discuss the 2024 election changes, Wikipedia's partisanship challenge, and Amazon's media strategy. They cover the impact of events on the election, contrasts between Presidential and CEO roles, and the selection of JD Vance as VP candidate. Additionally, they explore algorithmic collusion in real estate, Wikipedia dynamics, AI influence, stock valuations, and Amazon's media business evolution.

59:56

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Quick takeaways

2024 election campaigns may become mundane to avoid unnecessary risks and distractions.

Wikipedia's partisanship issue stems from subjective source definitions and institutional decay affected by community biases.

Amazon's media business evolution from a vanity project to a data-driven advertising force blurs e-commerce, content creation, and advertising boundaries.

Deep dives

Impact of Yield Management Software on Real Estate Pricing

Yield management software used in real estate can unintentionally lead to de facto collusion among landlords, creating monopolistic pricing. Regulations may need to address the use of customer data to prevent pricing distortions.

Exploring Determination, Success, and Hit Rates in Various Domains

04:59

Pricing Equilibrium and Market Fragmentation

01:08

Analyzing Amazon's Media Business and Data-Driven Advertising Strategies

04:48

Intro

2min

Influence of Unexpected Events on the Election

14min

Exploring the Contrasts Between Presidential and CEO Roles

5min

Analysis of JD Vance as VP Pick and Reflections on Age and Generational Change in Politics

5min

Analyzing Algorithmic Collusion in Real Estate Using Yield Management Software

5min

Exploring Wikipedia, AI Influence, Stock Valuations, Amazon's Media Business, and Financial Markets in America

29min

On this week’s episode of The Riff, Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg discuss how the 2024 presidential election has changed, why Wikipedia’s partisanship problem is difficult to solve, and the strategy behind Amazon’s media business.

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro

(00:20) Case for a boring campaign

(01:49) Impact of Assassination Attempts

(05:20) Sam Altman OpenAI analogy