Dissed by an Algorithm
Oh yeah, you’re a super-clever, behaviourally targeted leading e-commerce website, but basically you’re calling me a fat geek. To my face. Nice.
Check out the homepage below, which greeted me when I cruised past the Amazon website the other day. O’Reilly books, donut maker and a chocolate fountain.
And what’s worse is the suggestions are based on a book I bought for the office, and a gift for my sister. Honest.
It’s a sad day when you’re getting slagged off by an algorithm. Perhaps I do need to get out more. And maybe I should take in a bit more literary culture. Damn it, maybe the targeting is right.
Comments from the original blog
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Benjamin · 26 September 2008
Not the old ‘office’ and ‘present for my sister’ line. Common, everyone know that PHP coders eat donuts dipped in chocolate from a chocolate fountain. That page is a badge of pride!
Jon Aizlewood · 26 September 2008
Hey Sam,
If you want my honest opinion, I think you two should fight. I mean, you can take that algorithm. What’s he made of? A few 1’s and 0’s? Go on, don’t stand for that. I’ve got £10 on you to win in round 1.
Make me rich!
J
Sam Michel (author) · 26 September 2008
@Jon Aizlewood – good point, I mean what’s the worst it can do? Apart from delete all my digital data, remove any record of my existence. I’ve seen the films, I know what can happen.
Paranoid, moi?
Mat Morrison · 29 September 2008
You can, of course, tell Amazon to "Fix this" on the recommendations page where it tells you why it’s making the recommendation.
Â
Of course, if it tells you that it’s "Recommended because you ate too many pi-s" there’s little you can do.Â
That gag was probably never funny. It’s even less funny now that it’s on the page. Ah well.Â