Predictions for Media?

The Economist profiles Simon and Schuster's Touchstone, which is using the new MediaPredict site to help select successful ventures. Media Predict hopes to do this using a virtual stockmarket for unpublished books, unsigned music acts and proposed television shows. Artists or agents post samples of such as a a book chapter or a television pilot. "Traders" use virtual cash buy shares in the material they feel has the greatest potential.

The idea is that as traders buy and sell shares in competing content, the cream will float to the top—where entertainment-industry bosses can skim it off. Snippet from The Economist

MediaPredict combines the wisdom of crowds, an online stock market of sorts, virtual money, a blog and social bookmarking. No doubt O'Reilly Radar will have something to say about this initiative.