Netflix has attracted a bunch of positive attention with the contest it ran offering a $1 million prize to any team that could measurably improve its movie-recommendation algorithm. Now the Obama administration is getting into the prize business by launching a contest to come up with the best way to save the federal government money. But only federal employees can participate. That's as if Netflix ran its contest only allowing Netflix employees to participate. If someone who isn't a federal employee has a good idea on saving the government money, does the Office of Managment and Budget not want to hear about it? Sometimes, businesses are just smarter about things than the government is. Oh -- there's one other way the federal contest is different from the Netflix one. In the Netflix contest, the prize was $1 million. In the federal government contest, the prize is a meeting with President Obama. Oh -- one other thing -- Donald Marron links to this slideshow on Netflix corporate culture, which, if you run a business or work in one, makes for some fascinating reading.
The Save Award
https://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2009/09/the-save-award
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