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I don't know how I feel about this. I have been an Amazon customer since 1996, and the company almost certainly has data on me for a period spanning more than h

I don't know how I feel about this. I have been an Amazon customer since 1996, and the company almost certainly has data on me for a period spanning more than half of my life, including very private things like information on my medical history. On the other hand, I have also owned Amazon stock since shortly after their IPO, and at some level have financially benefitted from all the data that the company has gathered on its customers.

dx034 7y ago
Amazon has a similar amount of data on me. And yet, their product recommendations are never really helpful. A toddler would probably be better at recommending products for me than Amazon is. So I'm not sure if the amount of data actually helps them financially.
- java-man 7y ago
  Interestingly, I interviewed with Amazon, with a person who worked on the [new] AI recommentation engine. Of course, I did point out that the new recommendation system was nearly unusable and tried to explain why. Did not get the job. Which means they might be quite comfortable with the status quo.
- h2odragon 7y ago
  The better the product recommendations, the more creepily obvious it is just how well they know you. Nah. Things like search would be better if they were hiding competence.
- pantsforbirds 7y ago
  I am constantly creeped out by how well Amazon markets things to me. There are two types of recommendations I get from Amazon though. The first is ads I see on sites like Facebook and are things I would never look up, but I'm also curious if that is part of their strategy. I get ads on facebook for things like a unicycle that is motorized and can go like 35mph. Half the time I end up clicking on these insane ads just to read reviews or the description. The on site recommendations work very well for me though (they know I love woodworking and Cooking/Kitchen stuff). I'm curious if the outrageous ads are to get you on site, then the targeted on-site ads are to actually get you to buy things?
- post_below 7y ago
  Agreed that their recommendation engine is nearly useless. But that's not really where the data benefits them. The power is in aggregate data: Product sales history, trends, etc.. The things you can do with that kind data, in that volume, across nearly endless markets and verticals... Throw in an army of third party sellers paying you while they do your research and power your analytics for you for free: The real mystery is that they're not eating the internet retail industry faster.
- Amygaz 7y ago
  I am being half sarcastic half serious here, but what if they are actually able to properly recommend things to you, but they want you to buy more of the other in addition to what you are currently consuming? If you look at google search results it seems more obvious that at least this is what G is interested in doing.

dx034 7y ago

Amazon has a similar amount of data on me. And yet, their product recommendations are never really helpful. A toddler would probably be better at recommending products for me than Amazon is. So I'm not sure if the amount of data actually helps them financially.

java-man 7y ago
Interestingly, I interviewed with Amazon, with a person who worked on the [new] AI recommentation engine. Of course, I did point out that the new recommendation system was nearly unusable and tried to explain why. Did not get the job. Which means they might be quite comfortable with the status quo.
h2odragon 7y ago
The better the product recommendations, the more creepily obvious it is just how well they know you. Nah. Things like search would be better if they were hiding competence.
pantsforbirds 7y ago
I am constantly creeped out by how well Amazon markets things to me. There are two types of recommendations I get from Amazon though. The first is ads I see on sites like Facebook and are things I would never look up, but I'm also curious if that is part of their strategy. I get ads on facebook for things like a unicycle that is motorized and can go like 35mph. Half the time I end up clicking on these insane ads just to read reviews or the description. The on site recommendations work very well for me though (they know I love woodworking and Cooking/Kitchen stuff). I'm curious if the outrageous ads are to get you on site, then the targeted on-site ads are to actually get you to buy things?
post_below 7y ago
Agreed that their recommendation engine is nearly useless. But that's not really where the data benefits them. The power is in aggregate data: Product sales history, trends, etc.. The things you can do with that kind data, in that volume, across nearly endless markets and verticals... Throw in an army of third party sellers paying you while they do your research and power your analytics for you for free: The real mystery is that they're not eating the internet retail industry faster.
Amygaz 7y ago
I am being half sarcastic half serious here, but what if they are actually able to properly recommend things to you, but they want you to buy more of the other in addition to what you are currently consuming? If you look at google search results it seems more obvious that at least this is what G is interested in doing.