confab.yahoo "prediction markets: tapping the wisdom of crowds"

confab.yahoo is Yahoo! TechDev's new open microconference series. Join academic and industry experts from across the valley and the country as we discuss the latest technologies and their applications and see for yourself what's next on the web. Attendance is free and open to the public. Food and drinks provided. We'll also have a limited number of free copies of "The Wisdom of Crowds."

"Prediction Markets: Tapping the Wisdom of Crowds"
Wed Dec 13, 5:30-8:00pm
Yahoo! Headquarters, Building C, Classrooms 4+5
Webcast 100k http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=1531954&segment=180308
Webcast 300k http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=1531955&segment=180308

Join us for a public “how to” session on prediction markets** moderated by James Surowiecki, New Yorker columnist and best-selling author of The Wisdom of Crowds. Speakers from Google, HP, Microsoft, and Yahoo! will describe how they are using prediction markets to aid corporate forecasting and decision making. Other speakers include the developer of Zocalo, an open source prediction market platform; the co-founder of InklingMarkets.com, a Paul Graham yCombinator startup, Eric Zitzewitz, professor of economics at Stanford Business School, and Robin Hanson, the visionary economist and inventor whose pioneering work paved the way. The event is open to the public and will emphasize practical lessons and hands-on advice. After brief presentations from each speaker, Surowiecki will open up the session for discussion with the audience.

** A prediction market is like a stock market for ideas or information. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prediction_market
The market rewards good information whether it comes from elites or the masses. Prediction markets have built a track record of besting pundits and pollsters when it comes to predicting everything from political elections to quarterly sales figures.