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Marchand, Donald A., and Joe Peppard. 2013. Why IT Fumbles Analytics. HBR
Focus on information rather than technology.

Carr, Nicholas G. 2003. IT Doesn't Matter. HBR
IT is a commodity -> spend less, follow rather than lead, and focus on risks rather than opportunities.

Davenport, Thomas H. 2006. Competing on Analystics. HBR
Become an analytics competitor to differentiate yourself.

McAfee, Andrew, and Erik Brynjolfsson. 2008. Investing in the IT that Makes a Competitive Difference. HBR
IT -> more concentration and more turbulent. To thrive firms need to deploy, innovate, and propagate.

Use A/B testing to learn about your consumers

A review of two books touts the benefits of A/B testing (WSJ, March 2020). The focus of the books is on the best way to design the consumer's online experience. A/B testing can also be used to test product features and pricing.

The Internet is a scary place

"Price customization" is common on the Internet (FindLaw, June 2005).

Here is a short history of pricing and how the internet is opening up new avenues for firms to follow to increase price discrimination and profit (The Atlantic, May 2017).

Will AI => Centralization?

This article in the WSJ (Nov. 2019) discusses the role that AI may have in increasing or decreasing centralization.

Is this Use of AI great or scary?

The WSJ reports that Google has teamed with Ascension to analyse personal health data for millions of people across 21 states without obtaining consent or even informing the patients. The (partial) goal is noble: "Google in this case is using the data, in part, to design new software, underpinned by advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning, that zeroes in on individual patients to suggest changes to their care." The report also states that "the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, generally allows hospitals to share data with business partners without telling patients, as long as the information is used 'only to help the covered entity carry out its health care functions.'” 

How Google auctions ads

A link to a nice video.

Take a peek under Google's hood

This article in the WSJ describes how Google built its "ad machine".