http://www.ericszulc.com/wordpress Work & Thoughts on Economics & Design Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:27:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en If in an effort to avoid arguments and hurt-feelings, you and your roommates want to find the most efficient way to divide rent and decide who gets which room... fret none. "Room assignment-rent division: A market approach" by Abdulkadiroglu, Sönmez, and Ünver details a simple, clever and elegant mechanism for ... http://www.ericszulc.com/wordpress/2008/12/13/rent-sharing-matching-mechanism-visualization/ Abstract In this paper we discuss using the often celebrated top-trading cycles mechanism to increase participation in open source projects. Open source projects is typically characterized as voluntary activity where a small set of participant perform the majority of tasks. In addition, open source projects can substantially reduce the cost for ... http://www.ericszulc.com/wordpress/2008/12/13/a-matching-mechanism-for-allocating-attention-to-tasks-in-open-source-projects/ A while back I stumbled on this podcast via Phil McKinney of Killer Innovations. Basically, it's a very fun exercise in thinking creatively and generating different perspectives. We all know the classic saying. An optimist says: Awesome!!!11... The glass is half full. A pessimist says: Dang. The glass is half empty. Phil suggests trying to ... http://www.ericszulc.com/wordpress/2008/07/09/the-glass-is-half-full-or-not-maybe/ Chris Anderson has started a lot of discusstion about free in "Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business". Although, I didn't see him mention it (and maybe it will be in his upcoming book "Free"), there's something strategically special about free. Simply, it's as if producer incentives are as they ... http://www.ericszulc.com/wordpress/2008/05/25/whats-strategically-interesting-about-free/ Abstract Research in the economics of attention generally approaches attention as a scarce resource and the design of systems to efficiently allocate that resource. This paper approaches the topic with a slight twist. Instead of designing systems to allocate attention, we look to designing systems where attention is a medium of ... http://www.ericszulc.com/wordpress/2008/05/23/masters-thesis/ Seth Godin discusses short-sighted recruiting techniques here. One observant commenter recognizes that the typical cover letter, interview, and attention to detail format might actually reveal desirable characteristics in a candidate. Even if those activities were just completely wasteful, this technique might be useful in separating low-ability individuals from high-ability individuals ... http://www.ericszulc.com/wordpress/2007/09/05/another-recruiting-folly/ I love to read the various and amazing ideas entrepreneurs devise, but I can't help being especially entertained when they create solutions that circumvent government action. Here are two examples. I plan on collecting more. Getting caught insurance pointed from Marginal Revolution A private entrepreneur offers ticket insurance for public transportation as an ... http://www.ericszulc.com/wordpress/2007/08/28/government-correction/ Guy Kawasaki offers some good and humorous advice for poorly thought-out recruiting advertisements here How to Change the World: How to Not Hire Someone Via Craigslist. Guy is a bit optimistic on outcomes. These kinds of advertisements end up doing much worse in that they create an adverse selection (I've ... http://www.ericszulc.com/wordpress/2007/08/27/how-to-not-hire-someone-via-craigslist/ This is an application I carried out from concept, design to development. I did have some help in the early stages from my good friend Dave Bowman. The software is intended to be used by Sales Technicians conducting proof of concepts at prospective customer sites. A proof ... http://www.ericszulc.com/wordpress/2007/07/17/improv-presentation-application/ "Know-it-all" Recruiting Ad PDF "Airplane" Recruiting Ad PDF These are some recruiting advertisements that I designed. They were printed in Mensa magazine as well as in the Detroit News classified section. They were quite successful and have been reprinted many times. This is probably one of my first attempts to think analytically ... http://www.ericszulc.com/wordpress/2007/07/16/recruiting-advertisements/