Strategy question

Discuss the tradeoffs between showing the "people you may know" widget versus ads in the newsfeed. How would you decide which one to show to a given user?

Practice this question out loud. An AI interviewer asks it, follows up like a real interviewer would, and scores your answer. Type or speak.

What this question tests

Ranking and monetization tradeoff thinking, balancing user engagement value against ad revenue in a single feed slot.

Clarify the tension: each feed slot given to People You May Know is a slot not sold as an ad, a direct revenue tradeoff.
Assess user value: PYMK drives network growth and long-term engagement, while ads drive immediate revenue but can fatigue users if overused.
Segment by user state: new users with few connections benefit more from PYMK, while established users with large networks get less value from it.
Propose a decision rule: show PYMK more to users below a connection count threshold, and prioritize ads more for well-connected long-tenured users.
Add a guardrail: cap ad load per session so revenue optimization does not degrade retention long term.
Success metric: balance long-term network growth (a leading indicator of future engagement and ad inventory) against short-term ad revenue per session.

Frames PYMK as an investment in future engagement and future ad inventory, not just a cost against current revenue, a key strategic insight.
Segments the decision by user connection count, a concrete, implementable targeting rule.
Sets a guardrail on ad load to protect long-term retention rather than optimizing only for short-term revenue.

Treating this as a simple more ads equals more revenue decision with no long-term retention consideration.
No segmentation of which users need PYMK most.
Ignoring that PYMK today drives ad inventory growth tomorrow through a larger network.

How would you quantify the long-term value of a new connection made through PYMK?
What connection count threshold would you use to decide, and how would you validate it?