Alina Verbenchuk (ex-YouTube): Use the Algorithm. Don’t Let It Use You.

Alina Verbenchuk (ex-YouTube): Use the Algorithm. Don’t Let It Use You.

From ARTIDOTE by Vashik Armenikus

February 28, 2026 · 54 min

About this episode

Alina Verbenchuk discusses how to navigate and leverage digital platforms effectively.

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…

People in this episode

Host: Vashik Armenikus

Guest: Alina Verbenchuk

Topics covered

  • digital platforms
  • technology
  • influence
  • agency
  • information access

Keywords

  • algorithm
  • platforms
  • technology
  • influence
  • digital access
  • agency
  • knowledge

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: YouTube, Google, Korda

Books & works: How Platforms Work

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