5 ms·

Google shouldn’t be the only source of interest-based recommendations

42 points by weinzierl 7y ago

Yuval_Halevi 7y ago
I wish. It's not because they are Google, it's because their algorithm is so good, that when there will be another alternative to google search, it will need to act the same. I'm dealing with content on a daily basis. Most of the challenge when it comes to writing content is to make it suitable to more than 200 factors Google is using in their algorithm to determine the quality of this content. You can think about it as a massive supermarket checklist, Only when all the 200 boxes checked, your wife will tell you good job.
RandomInteger4 7y ago
Well, it kinda helps that they were the first good search engine. Their name is synonymous with performing a search, much in the way people say "let me grab a kleenex" with regard to tissues,or "I used a q-tip to clean my ear, doctors and their advice be damned" with regard to whatever the hell q-tips are called without referencing a brand name. Granted, as a result of that in Google's case, their market dominance is kind of self-perpetuating, because that higher usage leads to better results, since our brains think very similarly, so that thing you were thinking of has already been searched for, and thus their algorithm has already filtered the results down to what you likely want before you even know that you need to search for something. Take a new video game for instance where you want to search for the map or walkthrough for a particular level. You'll get better results using Google, because most other people are already using Google to search for that exact same thing, whereas when I do the same with duckduckgo, it's hit or miss on the results.
McTossOut 7y ago
I'm not going to deal with any "interest-based recommendations" until they are transparent about how they work. I've personally neutered all the platforms I use to avoid this type of system. No thanks.
Nasrudith 7y ago
The article undermines the title and itself by mentioning the other non-Google sources of interest based recommendations like reddit and other people then acting like there are no alternatives. It is befuddling to say the least like complaining that McDonalds is your only lunch option after listing your kitchen, a work fridge, and several other restaurants in the area.
- mc32 7y ago
  Well people do complain that in some areas the only food available is Macdonalds and gas stations -they call these places food deserts, even though there are alternatives, there is friction making them non alternatives.
ec109685 7y ago
I still miss Zite. It provided a great selection of algorithmically ranked content that matched my interests. Despite Flipboard buying them, the experience never was the same once Zite shutdown (and flipping is dumb phone paradigm).
guybedo 7y ago
To be fair, Google is doing a great job, although it's true we shouldn't rely on only a few big companies to provide recommendations. Fwiw, i've built a RSS reader and i'm currently adding a recommendation feature to it. That's a feature i've always wanted to have in a RSS reader. If you want to check it out, it should available in the next few weeks (https://aktu.io https://aktu.io)
kmod 7y ago
A bit late to the party, but I've recently started a personalized recommendation service, currently focusing on news. So far it's good at identifying which subreddits you are interested in, and soon it will be able to give you recommendations across the web. Check it out! https://www.onlyvetted.com/ https://www.onlyvetted.com/
- d2wa 7y ago
  Is there any way to use the service without a Google account?

42 points by weinzierl 7y ago

I wish. It's not because they are Google, it's because their algorithm is so good, that when there will be another alternative to google search, it will need to act the same. I'm dealing with content on a daily basis. Most of the challenge when it comes to writing content is to make it suitable to more than 200 factors Google is using in their algorithm to determine the quality of this content. You can think about it as a massive supermarket checklist, Only when all the 200 boxes checked, your wife will tell you good job.

RandomInteger4 7y ago

Well, it kinda helps that they were the first good search engine. Their name is synonymous with performing a search, much in the way people say "let me grab a kleenex" with regard to tissues,or "I used a q-tip to clean my ear, doctors and their advice be damned" with regard to whatever the hell q-tips are called without referencing a brand name. Granted, as a result of that in Google's case, their market dominance is kind of self-perpetuating, because that higher usage leads to better results, since our brains think very similarly, so that thing you were thinking of has already been searched for, and thus their algorithm has already filtered the results down to what you likely want before you even know that you need to search for something. Take a new video game for instance where you want to search for the map or walkthrough for a particular level. You'll get better results using Google, because most other people are already using Google to search for that exact same thing, whereas when I do the same with duckduckgo, it's hit or miss on the results.

McTossOut 7y ago

I'm not going to deal with any "interest-based recommendations" until they are transparent about how they work. I've personally neutered all the platforms I use to avoid this type of system. No thanks.

Nasrudith 7y ago

The article undermines the title and itself by mentioning the other non-Google sources of interest based recommendations like reddit and other people then acting like there are no alternatives. It is befuddling to say the least like complaining that McDonalds is your only lunch option after listing your kitchen, a work fridge, and several other restaurants in the area.

mc32 7y ago
Well people do complain that in some areas the only food available is Macdonalds and gas stations -they call these places food deserts, even though there are alternatives, there is friction making them non alternatives.

ec109685 7y ago

I still miss Zite. It provided a great selection of algorithmically ranked content that matched my interests. Despite Flipboard buying them, the experience never was the same once Zite shutdown (and flipping is dumb phone paradigm).

guybedo 7y ago

To be fair, Google is doing a great job, although it's true we shouldn't rely on only a few big companies to provide recommendations. Fwiw, i've built a RSS reader and i'm currently adding a recommendation feature to it. That's a feature i've always wanted to have in a RSS reader. If you want to check it out, it should available in the next few weeks (https://aktu.io https://aktu.io)

kmod 7y ago

A bit late to the party, but I've recently started a personalized recommendation service, currently focusing on news. So far it's good at identifying which subreddits you are interested in, and soon it will be able to give you recommendations across the web. Check it out! https://www.onlyvetted.com/ https://www.onlyvetted.com/

d2wa 7y ago
Is there any way to use the service without a Google account?