Cookies, small text files stored on a user’s local computer, are pivotal in carrying information across the internet. This is because the HTTP protocol (the way we communicate with the web) does not retain information between sessions. To store and retrieve any information—even something as simple as what was entered before and after clicking the ‘search’ button—we and the web need cookies. This mechanism makes our browsing experience seamlessly smooth....

Optimizing Product Launches in the Presence of Strategic Consumers. By Ilan Lobel, Jigar Patel, Gustavo Vulcano, and Jiawei Zhang. Management Science 2016. DOI https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2015.2189 The paper studies firm’s product launch policy. It is motivated by the industry example, where tech firms iteratively release new models of their products. For example, Apple releasing one new iPhone models almost every 12-18 months, or Nintendo’s upcoming switch 2 that has been overdued 7 years (still is though)....

Henri Biva. French artist, active around 1900s±, somewhere between post-impressionism and realism. This painting is one of Henri’s masterpieces that showcased the artist’s mastery in capturing warm natural light. Etang dans la brume (aka Pond in the mist), Henri Biva (1848 – 1929). Salon de Paris, 1910. Oil on canvcs (151cm•111cm). Now in Musée d’Orsa. IT IS THE OIL ON CANVAS THAT BIVA PRESENTED IN PARIS AT THE 1910 SALON UNDER THE NUMBER 206....

A .json file is a text file formatted in JSON (JavaScript Object Notation). It is a lightweight data-interchange format, that is easy enough for human to read and write, but also easy for machine to parse and generate. JSON is frequently used to transmit data between a server and web applications, or using to store lightweight data. In Python, one can load JSON file using json library: import json with open('data....

In the spirit of Karl Lagerfeld who once said, “I like the idea of craziness with discipline,” it all started with an assignment from my professor about Google’s cookie and privacy policies. I was supposed to research how cookies influence ad targeting and how collected privacy data is processed, stored and used. But reading about it from all sources wasn’t barely enough for my appetite—so, I turned to something even more exhiliarting:...

Here’s a reallly cool paper. Bergemann et al. (2015) The Limits of Price Discrimination. AER. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/aer.20130848 ABSTRACT We analyze the welfare consequences of a monopolist having additional information about consumers’ tastes, beyond the prior distribution; the additional information can be used to charge different prices to different segments of the market, i.e., carry out “third degree price discrimination.” We show that the segmentation and pricing induced by the additional information can achieve every combination of consumer and producer surplus such that: (i) consumer sur- plus is nonnegative, (ii) producer surplus is at least as high as profits under the uniform monopoly price, and (iii) total surplus does not exceed the surplus generated by efficient trade....

Wall Street Journal has its take on Google’s dicey cookie policy. Let’s wait for a while for the dust to fall: Google Is Keeping Cookies in Chrome After All By Patience Haggin and Suzanne Vranica Original new article here. In a major reversal, Google is ending a plan to eliminate cookies in its Chrome browser after four years of efforts, delays and disagreements with the advertising industry. The decision to keep the pervasive tracking technology known as “cookies” in Chrome comes after a series of setbacks, as both digital-advertising companies and regulators objected to the plan and to Google’s proposed replacement technologies....

Taking the premise that there is privacy issue with Cookies—some sacrifice between efficiency and privacy is inevitable. How does the industry react: Browsers: Some browsers take an extreme approach: Safari and Firefox has been blocking Cookies for years. While others are more moderate: Edge doesn’t block 3rd party cookies. Regulator: GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) initiated in Europe provides comprehensive privacy or data protection reform for not only European residents and European companies, but all companies worldwide that are serving customers in Europe—including consent for users to opt-in using personal Cookie data....

We will focus on Google Chrome to discuss 3rd party cookies’ value in online advertising. Because (i) Cookie and privacy policies vary among browsers, and Chrome is the most popular web-browser (91.56% global share, according 6sense’s report) (ii) Google announced their plan in replacing 3rd party cookies in 2025 (iii) The Ad-exchange industry, whose value largely depends on Cookies, accounts for 10% of Google’s revenue. The Ad-Exchange Industry Structure Publishers like the NY Times attract readers and sell ad space to third-party ad exchanges, which collect user information through cookies and sell it to advertisers....

In April 2024, Google announced the complete phase-out of third-party cookies by 2025, marking a significant shift in the digital landscape (timeline). This technical report explores the role of third-party cookies in the online advertising market, their inherent value, and the ongoing industry changes. Section 1 | What are Cookies? Definition: Cookies are small text files that hold a modest amount of data specific to a particular user and website. It is stored locally on a user’s computer....