Category Archives: Marketplaces

Proposal: an Open-Source Zaarly Clone in Node.js

I want to use Zaarly. But I know it won’t come to Australia any time soon. I want to learn node.js. But to really learn it, I have to build something in it. This is the type of coincidence of … Continue reading

Posted in Hacker Tales, Marketplaces | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Charity Auctions on Social Networks

Did this paper provide an early proof for the Groupon model? Conitzer and Sandholm introduced the idea of using auctions to allow individuals to offer to match the contribution of others. We explore this idea in a social network setting, where … Continue reading

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Thick, Uncongested and Safe

Successful marketplaces require three key elements. “They must be thick, uncongested, and safe,”… Having sufficient “thickness” means there are enough participants in the market to make it thrive. “Congestion” is what can happen when markets get too thick too fast: … Continue reading

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Markets, Hierarchies & Distributed Networks

For thousands of years, markets and hierarchies were the only alternatives when it came to aggregating human effort. Now there’s a third option: real-time, distributed networks. – Gary Hamel I love this comment. The only exception I take to it is … Continue reading

Posted in Aside, Marketplaces, Navel Gazing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments