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PODCAST

People vs Algorithms

Troy Young, Brian Morrissey, Alex Schleifer

Uncovering patterns of change in media, culture, and technology, each week media veterans Brian Morrissey, Alex Schleifer and Troy Young break down stuff that matters. Get our newsletters: https://www.peoplevsalgorithms.com/ https://www.therebooting.com/

technology business news

All Episodes

52:14

AI meets tech's friction paradox

People vs Algorithms ·

2023/04/19

Nobody likes friction, at least in the moment. It stands in the way of accomplishing a task. Modern life in many ways has been an exercise in applying technology to remove friction from everyday processes. There has long been too much friction in media businesses, not just in delivery but in the service of making as much money as possible. This week, we discuss the positives and negatives of friction in media products.Some links:Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The

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39:49

Ideation time

People vs Algorithms ·

2023/04/13

This week, Troy, Alex and Brian discuss how we come up with ideas and take them through to execution. We break down the phases, from thinking to making to editing.Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterAlex Schleifer's Universal EntitiesFollowAlex,BrianandTroyon Twitter

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48:44

Fear and Loathing, AI Edition

People vs Algorithms ·

2023/04/05

This week, we discuss how the conversation about AI has broken into camps of maximalists, doomers and fatalists. AI looks poised at a minimum to accelerate shifts in media, creating new opportunities, new challenges and likely new destruction. Likely winners: niche and personality media, those with unique data sets and, yes, strong brands as a signal of trust in a world of Balenciaga Popes. All that might not matter much if AI proves to be humanity's undoing as our worship of technological

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01:02:08

The death of ad formats

People vs Algorithms ·

2023/03/29

It's been 20 years, and despite endless attempts to bend the internet to its will, advertising remains a fraught part of the digital media experience. The internet put the consumer in control, connected the impression to the transaction, and in the process, completely transformed how we think about advertising, personal data sovereignty, and its underlying economics.AI is about to change things all over again.Troy, Alex, and Brian delve into digital advertising's messy history, failed attempts at

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49:23

Format, shmormat

People vs Algorithms ·

2023/03/22

Brian, Troy, and Alex tackle the fascinating topic of formats and explore why they can make or break media companies. Note: this is a re-upload of the episode because Alex screwed it and uploaded an old episode the first time round. That's what you get for trusting RSS feeds. Some links:Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterAlex Schleifer's Universal EntitiesFollow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

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01:00:48

Bank failure or culture war?

People vs Algorithms ·

2023/03/14

Brian, Troy, and Alex jump on a call to talk about that SVB thing and the discourse around it. Some links:Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterAlex Schleifer's Universal EntitiesFollow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

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47:20

Substack is probably important

People vs Algorithms ·

2023/03/08

This week Brian, Troy and Alex discuss Substack, why it's turning into a platform, and why e-mail may or may not be its future. Some links:Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterAlex Schleifer's Universal EntitiesFollow Alex, Brian and Troy on TwitterThe Humble Co. Compostable Dental Floss Sticks

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45:20

Alex wants to burn the ad industry down

People vs Algorithms ·

2023/03/01

Today Brian, Troy and Alex ask themselves "what is premium"? They also discuss bundling in its many different forms. How it changed internet media and how AI will change the entire concept of a bundle. Plus: Alex hates advertising, Brian remains in Comfort+ and Troy loves his dog.RankerVideo: "I tried using AI. It scared me." by Tom ScottTroy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterAlex Schleifer's Universal EntitiesFollow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

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43:25

Publishing is a perpetual hackathon

People vs Algorithms ·

2023/02/22

Software has eaten the world, and for publishers that means a continuous battle to fend off second-order impacts of decisions made by tech companies battling each other or governments attempting to rein in tech companies. This week, we discuss the second-order impacts cascading through the industry from attempts to regulate digital privacy and from, of course, the development of AI. Also, what does Vice owing Ranker money say about media today?RankerVideo: "I tried using AI. It scared me." by Tom

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42:30

The new media interface

People vs Algorithms ·

2023/02/16

Troy, Alex and Brian discuss what's next for interfaces and how we will be getting our media in the future.Show notes:Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterUniversal EntitiesDonks by Felix ColgraveCrown Royal x Super Bowl LVII - Thank You Canada (this is the video Troy mentions at the end of the episode)Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

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46:49

Uniqueness, differentiation and building the next...

People vs Algorithms ·

2023/02/08

Troy, Alex and Brian discuss differentiation or uniqueness and what it means as the algorithmic age moves into new territory.Show notes:Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterUniversal Entities"Kids in the 60s..." tweetFollow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

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57:07

The state of optimism, was Steve Jobs a psychopath...

People vs Algorithms ·

2023/02/03

In this episode we discuss the virtues and misuses of optimism. We dig into how optimism gets applied to the way we build strategies, teams, and products in tech and media. We cover a lot in this near hour-long episode but we try to stay upbeat.Show notes:Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterUniversal EntitiesLaid Off by @AiyyoShraddha on YouTubeFollow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

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50:21

How we make decisions

People vs Algorithms ·

2023/01/26

This week we’re talking about decisions: how to make them, when they go wrong, and the tough decisions that are often forced on you. The longer your career goes, and the higher up you progress in organizations, the decisions you make become the core of your contribution. Make enough decisions, you’ll make plenty of bad ones. We see this clearly in the sharp U-Turn Silicon Valley is making from a series of hiring decisions they all made during the pandemic. It’s become something of a ritual for a SV

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51:59

Death of the Racket: 2023 Winners and Losers

People vs Algorithms ·

2023/01/21

We're still in January so we thought we might as well slip in a late predictions episode. Everyone came prepared.Show notes:Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterUniversal EntitiesFollow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

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37:31

Brian goes to CES and AI freakouts

People vs Algorithms ·

2023/01/13

Brian's fresh off CES, where he saw no robots at all but definitely got a coffee behind a guy just wrapping up a big night. We’re going to talk about CES, both from a tech angle, as well as from a media and advertising angle, since it has become a go-to event for media executives to go and spend nearly all of their time in suites doing meetings. We’re also going to dip into AI, which is set to be everywhere this year and is already eliciting excess excitement. Show notes:Troy Young's People vs

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40:54

Death of the Link

People vs Algorithms ·

2023/01/06

This week, we consider whether we’re on the cusp of the end of the link era. The web was built on links. It connected the disparate nodes of the web and, crucially, brought some measure of serendipity to the internet. But the link is fading from its central role. Just this week, The Information broke news that Microsoft plans to bring ChatGPT to Bing, offering the tantalyzing possibility of Google feeling real competition for the first time in a long time – and bringing up the question of whether

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54:16

The 2023 Expectation Reset

People vs Algorithms ·

2022/12/23

The end of calendar years tend to be times for resets. We like to use them as an excuse for a fresh start. This is why we have Sober January and even Veganuary, which I find far more popular in the UK for some reason, and gyms are crowded and I see people very red in the face out for their firs run in many, many months. 2023 is a year of reset expectations and that’s because, as we’ve discussed on this show, we are closing out an era and entering a new one whose contours are only coming into focus

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59:25

People vs Platforms

People vs Algorithms ·

2022/12/17

We’re closing out the year with a series of conversations that look at the trends that will define these patterns in media, technology and culture in the year ahead. Last week we started with artificial intelligence. This week, we’re looking ahead to platforms, in particular social platforms, as they are in a time of transition. We look ahead and discuss what trend to expect as we sort through the role platforms will play as they’ve grown too big and too powerful perhaps for their and our own

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50:31

People vs AI

People vs Algorithms ·

2022/12/09

Thanks to AI,2023 will likely be the year when we fall in love again with the magic that can be technology and also confront the thorny questions around misinformation, the nature of ownership and copyright and, oh by the way, will those of us who have mostly typed words for a living need to be retrained to do something else? There is also the grand existential question: Is it going to replace us?Links:The People vs Algorithm NewsletterThe Rebooting NewsletterThe Rebooting PodcastsUniversal

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51:30

The disappointments of the open web

People vs Algorithms ·

2022/12/02

This week, Troy, Alex and Brian discuss the fate of the open web through the lens of building sustainable publishing business models. One key shortcoming is around micropayments. Logic says this should exist. Even the most successful publishers convert only a small fraction of their total audience to paying subscribers. And that’s because of misaligned incentives. What makes sense for the audience does not make sense for publishers. The other lens is this week’s big deal between Yahoo and Taboola,

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