Statistical Learning in Online Advertising

Document Type

Presentation Abstract

Presentation Date

11-24-2008

Abstract

We’ll start by discussing some of the data that is created by online advertising and the role that data plays in what is now a $20 billion industry. Then I’ll talk about a few interesting open problems that I’m working on for my dissertation.

Fundamentally, researchers in online advertising are trying to understand how people respond to ads and how to make advertising more effective. I’ll begin by shocking you with the unsophisticated “state-of-the-art” in conversion attribution. Then, having thoroughly destroyed that straw man, we’ll build up a much more sensible mathematical model. After that I’ll touch on another accessible problem or two from the same arena.

By the end of this talk you should have some sense for the kinds of problems that people with mathematical talents are working on at Microsoft, you’ll see some examples of the kinds of data that are being created by the Internet, and you’ll learn a little bit about how statistics is being applied to these problems. If you’re reading this, then this talk is probably accessible to you.

Additional Details

Monday, 24 November 2008
3:10 p.m. in Math 103
4:00 p.m. Refreshments in Math Lounge 109

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS