3 ms·
RMSE also penalizes for a bad prediction of your 1000th-from-the-top best prediction as much as your top prediction. Amazon's algorithm is actually quite simpl
by wheels 17y ago
RMSE also penalizes for a bad prediction of your 1000th-from-the-top best prediction as much as your top prediction.
Amazon's algorithm is actually quite simple (at least as much as can be extrapolated from the outside, and confirmed by interviews with the people that wrote it), but they do a lot of work to place recommendations in context. I think that's one of the critical places to focus on when looking at raw sales boosts.
- aneesh 17y agoYep, context is key. I recall reading that Amazon found placing the "This is recommended because you bought book X" actually reassured their customers a lot. It seems like people prefer recommendation algorithms they can understand, rather than complex ones that may be more accurate.
- flipbrad 17y agoAbsolutely; makes me think back to this item (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=590276 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=590276) - the power of 'because'; whatever follows because only has to sound plausible in the blink of an eye that will be spent assessing whether the user trusts/pays attention to what amazon is telling him/her.