
This is how Netflix's top-secret recommendation system works - tzury
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/how-do-netflixs-algorithms-work-machine-learning-helps-to-predict-what-viewers-will-like
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smoll
The idea that you can group everyone into 2k+ cohorts of differing tastes
sounds like a good way of attacking the problem (though it feels a bit like
spaghetti sauce taken to the extreme [https://ed.ted.com/lessons/malcolm-
gladwell-on-spaghetti-sau...](https://ed.ted.com/lessons/malcolm-gladwell-on-
spaghetti-sauce)). Personally, though, I think IMDb score is way more
predictive of my enjoyment than their recommendation engine has ever been.
Nine times out of ten watching a show that is below an 8.0 is a complete waste
of time for me - I'll hate it even if it comes up as a 99% match for me.
Conversely, I'll watch a show totally out of my wheelhouse that I know nothing
about (cf. The Grand Tour) if it's good television. I figured there would be a
cohort of people who watch good things of any type but maybe not - maybe there
is, I just haven't been placed in it for whatever reason.

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jorvi
It always seems like pretty much every IMDB score is between 7-8. This makes
it essentially useless, because if everything is good, nothing is good. I've
experienced that RottenTomatoes is a far better indicator, especially the
'Audience score'.

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s_kilk
Except it mostly doesn't work.

My dashboard has recommended Minions "because you watched The Thick Of It".
Out of the whole list, only Yes Prime Minister comes close, and even at that
it misses the (more) obvious Yes Minister series.

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jetru
I find the Netflix recommendations largely non-beneficial considering their
lack of selection. Most of the movies/series I want to watch are not on
Netflix at all.

Moreover - I think the internal algorithm for training their models will be to
maximize "continuations" of watching series enabling binge-watching. While
this may be a good measure of engagement for THEM, it hardly is for ME. I
would much rather that the choice was made out of the global list of "good
stuff I should be watching" versus the "list of stuff Netflix sales people
could buy and negotiate for".

I do think it's cool that when you type in a title that's NOT in their system
- they can recognize it and recommend similar titles - although - it's a very
good bet that actually clicking and watching one of those is highly likely
going to a waste of time.

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mayank
> I think the internal algorithm for training their models will be to maximize
> "continuations" of watching series enabling binge-watching. While this may
> be a good measure of engagement for THEM, it hardly is for ME.

This seem inconsistent -- are you saying that you binge watch shows that you
don't like?

There's also a well-known gap between what people _say_ they want to watch vs
what they actually watch, they should absolutely be optimizing for the latter.

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jetru
> There's also a well-known gap between what people say they want to watch vs
> what they actually watch, they should absolutely be optimizing for the
> latter.

That's the point isn't it? They will optimize for the latter, but I want to
optimize for the former.

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skue
It's a shame they didn't bother to create a category for "Resists our
suggestions and prefers to manage their own view list."

Every time I've tried using Netflix, I've canceled in frustration. Their movie
selection is awful, and it baffles me that you have to hunt for your own
curated watch list among rows and rows of uninspired TV shows they insist you
might enjoy.

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krzat
It's amusing how hostile they are to power users.

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ucho
Just to power users? I keep getting suggestions to finish viewing last 1-2
minutes of each episode - the end credits that I previously skipped using big
"start next episode" button.

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homulilly
I must not fit into one of their "taste groups" because I've found they're
suggestions to be worse than useless.

From the article it sounds like they're more concerned with trying to get
people turned on too long running original series cash cows than showing them
good suggestions anyway. their Black Mirror = Luke Cage suggestion example is
laughable.

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merrua
They badly need to let their users override their system. I want to be able to
mark something hidden and not see it again.

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petters
The takeaway here is that the majority of useful data is implicit -- very
different from the Netflix challenge ten years ago.

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username3
Can the system tell when we're sick of a genre and clones?

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ENGNR
TLDR; machine learning

