Prediction markets, the Kindle & the Industry Standard
Prediction markets are speculative markets that are created for the purpose of making predictions. Basically, a prediction is made and then people bet on whether that prediction is likely or unlikely to take place. According to Wikipedia,
“People who buy low and sell high are rewarded for improving the market prediction, while those who buy high and sell low are punished for degrading the market prediction. Evidence so far suggests that prediction markets are at least as accurate as other institutions predicting the same events with a similar pool of participants.”
The most interesting thing (to me) is that prediction markets have proven to be quite accurate at determining the outcome of future events using the wisdom of crowds. And prediction markets are used in all kinds of industries, from finance to politics to entertainment.
Prediction markets are also used in the tech industry, where a prediction market was launched by The Industry Standard in February 2008. This is where I come in.
I’ve been writing for The Standard for awhile, but today marks the beginning of a new assignment – tackling the Industry Standard’s tech prediction market. I’ll be writing a couple of times a week about The Standard’s prediction market, and various technology predictions that are current on the site.
My first article debuts today discussing an upcoming announcement by Amazon. The company has announced an “important” press conference on February 9, but hasn’t released any details about what that press conference will entail, leading to widespread speculation that the company will release version 2 of the Kindle next week. So will Amazon launch Kindle 2.0 next week? The market is currently saying “yes.”
I’d like to invite you to participate in the Industry Standard’s prediction market with me. Come and vote for and against the tech predictions that are up on the site right now. And please comment, send me thoughts and suggestions, and provide your insights about the various predictions that are up on the site. I will always be looking for more ideas and topics for discussion.
Come and cast your vote at The Standard today.
Tags: Amazon, Hollywood Stock Exchange, Industry Standard, Kindle, prediction market
I’d love to see an analysis of the accuracy of the Industry Standard’s prediction markets and its predictors apart from what’s already on the site. (How is it that someone who just joined today is #4 on the leaderboard? This doesn’t make sense, outside analysis clearly needs to happen.) It’d also be interesting to see highlights from the best and worst predictions from the past…
@Dorothy – Thanks for the reply and I’m glad that you’re interested in seeing more about the prediction market and its predictors. One point of clarification – I think that the person who is #4 on the leaderboard actually joined on February 4, 2008 (last year). Although it is an interesting coincidence that he joined one year ago today.
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