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> they think an algorithm can decide better what I want to see than me myself I agree with your points, except I believe there is a limited role for algorithms
by mLuby 5y ago
> they think an algorithm can decide better what I want to see than me myself
I agree with your points, except I believe there is a limited role for algorithms that help users discover new things they might like but not know about. I prefer Spotify's approach, where there's a specific area of the app (a "Discover Weekly" playlist) that gets refreshed but not so often that it becomes a dopamine lever. Although that kind of recommendation algorithm can't seem to handle multifaceted "loves rap but also renaissance music" users' tastes very well yet—in that regard Pandora's separate stations were better.
- nobleach 5y agoI've never seen an algorithm better than Pandora's recommendations (back around 2011 when I used to listen daily). I found so much music that I still love to this day because of how "smart" that thing was/is.
- code_duck 5y agoYouTube’s used to be really excellent. I discovered so much good music when it seemed to work by automatically cueing songs or videos that other people who enjoyed the current video had enjoyed as well. They seemed to make a change a couple years ago to cue items I had previously watched instead. So now, instead of fresh and interesting items relevant to my tastes, it just plays things I’m already familiar with.
- mLuby 5y agoAgreed. That's probably because of just how much manual work went into it: "Each song [representative of other songs in its group] is analyzed by a musician in a process that takes 20 to 30 minutes per song. Ten percent of songs are analyzed by more than one musician to ensure conformity with the in-house standards and statistical reliability." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_Genome_Project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_Genome_Project
- b3morales 5y agoPandora, if I'm remembering correctly, also has a feature that Spotify lacks, which is to say "I don't like this" for a piece that it chooses. Although I couldn't say how much that influenced its later choices, it feels better as a user to be able to convey it.
- nobleach 5y agoI know for several of my "stations", they kept trying to suggest Coldplay. I'd constantly give them the thumbs down as I didn't feel Coldplay matched what I was going for. It didn't seem to affect their later suggestions.