EPISODE · Feb 28, 2026 · 53 MIN
Alina Verbenchuk (ex-YouTube): Use the Algorithm. Don’t Let It Use You.
from ARTIDOTE · host Vashik Armenikus
In this eye-opening conversation, we sit down with Alina Verbenchuk — entrepreneur, product leader, former YouTube and Google product expert, and co-founder of the music-industry technology platform Korda — to unpack a question that affects us all: How do platforms actually shape our world, and how can we use them without being used by them? Alina’s new book, How Platforms Work, takes us inside the systems, incentives, and design choices that power today’s biggest digital platforms. Drawing on her years building and scaling products at global tech companies, she reveals the hidden mechanics behind platforms we rely on for connection, knowledge, work, and cultural life — and shows why they behave the way they do. We’re living in a world unimaginable to our grandparents — and even our parents. Over the past two decades, platforms have exploded, granting us limitless access to knowledge, tools, and opportunities. Yet despite this abundance, we’re still learning how to navigate, control, and tame these forces instead of being pulled along by them. In this episode, Alina helps us understand not only what platforms are, but how we can leverage them on our terms, so that technology amplifies our agency rather than diminishing it.Tune in to explore:The architecture of influence behind modern platformsWhy access to limitless information doesn’t automatically make us wiserPractical frameworks for leveraging platforms instead of being leveraged by themWhat it really takes to build and shape platforms responsibly in the attention economyWhether you’re a creator, a builder, a thinker, or simply someone trying to make sense of this digital age, this episode will change how you see the technologies that define our lives.00:00 — Introduction02:16 — The Real Question: Who Uses Who?05:03 — Why “How Platforms Work” Had to Be Written08:39 — The Biggest Myth About Algorithms12:44 — The Unpleasant Truth: The Algorithm Is Neutral15:31 — Stop Trying to “Hack” the Algorithm18:42 — Why Short & Long Content Are Growing Together23:11 — The Bell Curve of Attention28:43 — Fame vs Fortune: What Creators Get Wrong31:43 — Platforms Give Distribution. You Build the Relationship32:35 — Yes, Platforms Are Attention Machines36:09 — Train the Algorithm to Be Your Friend38:52 — The Most Powerful Button on YouTube40:04 — Cleaning Your Information Diet42:35 — When Your Topic Becomes a Trap43:50 — The Content You Never See (And Why)47:51 — Inside the Machine: What Shook Me at YouTube52:45 — Final Advice: Use the Algorithm. Don’t Let It Use You
What this episode covers
In this eye-opening conversation, we sit down with Alina Verbenchuk — entrepreneur, product leader, former YouTube and Google product expert, and co-founder of the music-industry technology platform Korda — to unpack a question that affects us all: How do platforms actually shape our world, and how can we use them without being used by them? Alina’s new book, How Platforms Work, takes us inside the systems, incentives, and design choices that power today’s biggest digital platforms. Drawing on her years building and scaling products at global tech companies, she reveals the hidden mechanics behind platforms we rely on for connection, knowledge, work, and cultural life — and shows why they behave the way they do. We’re living in a world unimaginable to our grandparents — and even our parents. Over the past two decades, platforms have exploded, granting us limitless access to knowledge, tools, and opportunities. Yet despite this abundance, we’re still learning how to navigate, control, and tame these forces instead of being pulled along by them. In this episode, Alina helps us understand not only what platforms are, but how we can leverage them on our terms, so that technology amplifies our agency rather than diminishing it.Tune in to explore:The architecture of influence behind modern platformsWhy access to limitless information doesn’t automatically make us wiserPractical frameworks for leveraging platforms instead of being leveraged by themWhat it really takes to build and shape platforms responsibly in the attention economyWhether you’re a creator, a builder, a thinker, or simply someone trying to make sense of this digital age, this episode will change how you see the technologies that define our lives.00:00 — Introduction02:16 — The Real Question: Who Uses Who?05:03 — Why “How Platforms Work” Had to Be Written08:39 — The Biggest Myth About Algorithms12:44 — The Unpleasant Truth: The Algorithm Is Neutral15:31 — Stop Trying to “Hack” the Algorithm18:42 — Why Short & Long Content Are Growing Together23:11 — The Bell Curve of Attention28:43 — Fame vs Fortune: What Creators Get Wrong31:43 — Platforms Give Distribution. You Build the Relationship32:35 — Yes, Platforms Are Attention Machines36:09 — Train the Algorithm to Be Your Friend38:52 — The Most Powerful Button on YouTube40:04 — Cleaning Your Information Diet42:35 — When Your Topic Becomes a Trap43:50 — The Content You Never See (And Why)47:51 — Inside the Machine: What Shook Me at YouTube52:45 — Final Advice: Use the Algorithm. Don’t Let It Use You
NOW PLAYING
Alina Verbenchuk (ex-YouTube): Use the Algorithm. Don’t Let It Use You.
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
Sep 23, 2023 ·3m