Tech Talks Episode 25: Discovery

In this episode of Tech Talks, CEO David Baszucki is joined by Chen Zheng and Michelle Gong to explore the evolving world of search, recommendations, and personalization on Roblox. They discuss the complexities of discovery across different platforms, how Roblox is optimizing for long-term user and creator satisfaction, and the role of transparency, cold start challenges, and AI in shaping the future of engagement.

00:00 - Intro 

03:43 - Discovery in consumer products 

07:35 - How do products surface relevant content? 

08:35 - Types of user feedback and transfer learning 

10:25 - The evolution of discovery at Roblox 

14:00 - What are we optimizing for? 

16:58 - Balancing ecosystem health for users and creators  

20:36 - The importance of transparency and insights 

24:15 - Cold start 

27:25 - Understanding content without history and clickbait 

31:20 - Discovery vs. search 

33:11 - Muti-term search and more complex search dialogue 

37:33 - Short-term vs. long-term optimization in search and discovery

41:03 - Differences in discovery between products

45:02 - Future visions