Anant’s written a post about Orkut Crush which makes fascinating reading. Maybe it’s been happening across many social networking sites, and I just haven’t seen it; possibly because I haven’t used the “looking for someone” facilities.
Orkut Crush allows person A to register a “crush” on person B, and vice versa; the registered information is only provided to the matched pair when both sides signal.
So at a level of abstraction it allows a signalling of intention, done in secret, with the intention only revealed to the other party when matching conditions are met.
There are many things that need matching. There are many ways of indicating interest or signalling intention.
I wonder.
Revealed matched intentions. I agree it is clever. I want to draw parallels to second price sealed auctions but I haven’t fully thought it through yet.
Has it been tried in financial markets? I want to buy this security but I don’t want anybody to know about it until there is somebody who wants to sell it.
Exactly what I was thinking, I am sure there are a million reasons why not, but that’s why I worded it the way I did.
At least it’s something to think about. Once you think securities you can also think firms I suppose, invisible M&A intentions that get revealed only when there’s a match.
There’s something prisoner’s dilemma-ish about it, some issue of first-mover disadvantage that gets removed, which, like Lars said, I want to think more about. Which is why I left it all as an “I wonder” post.
I suspect the association to sealed bid second price auctions was triggered by both of these being about acting your intentions. In the sealed bid second price auction the best strategy is to bid your reservation price. The Orkut crush gesture seems designed to avoid the potential embarrassment of declaring what they feel. Some similarity.
There is one application that I can think of immediately using the same principle — and I haven’t been able to find a flaw yet/ it takes care of Dominic’s concern on misuse.
Media houses and media buyers (who already have a relationship) is the one that comes to mind.
Media houses often have cancellations on inventory that would be embarrasing if unsold. Take the case in India, where the “front page solus” is a premium position, and a bellwether of the newspaper’s success.
In the event of a cancellation (which does happen every now and then), pre-registered release orders which already indicate the “crush” could come into play.
For the media house, no embarrasment in discounting a premium position by calling all and sundry (as happens today). For the buyer, a premium position at an attractive rate.
The principal works for TV as well. Airline tickets? Hotel rooms?
Lots of possibilities.