Thursday, March 15, 2007

Prediction Markets Pittsburgh

Chris Briem wants to use prediction markets to guide Pittsburgh's renewal, and I think that it's a great idea. Chris is starting off with contracts (registered participants "buy" and "sell" these contracts, which determines a predicted market "value"; the thicker the market -- the more people participating -- the better the prediction):

  • When will a casino open in Pittsburgh?

  • Will the Penguins announce relocation on or before April 1st, 2007
  • (this one seems to be a non-starter, so I'm not including the link!)

    The markets are online at http://home.inklingmarkets.com/, but we need more contracts. How about:

  • Who will be the next Mayor of Pittsburgh?

  • What will be Pittsburgh's next breakout technology company?

  • When will the Steelers get back to the Super Bowl?

  • When will Allegheny County's Latino population reach 2% of the total?

  • Will Pittsburgh's Creative Class ever get the recognition and respect that it deserves?

  • and, of course,

  • Which store -- CoCo's or Dozen -- will win the local cupcake wars?
  • 1 comment:

    Anonymous said...

    http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/16/alaska.land.ap/index.html

    Pittsburgh should try this in specific areas of the city with dwindling populations...