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Recommendations

I tend to do a good amount of shopping online, so I have crossed paths with Amazon on more than one occasion.  And in the process of doing said online shopping, I have noticed that I confuse the heck out of its recommendation system.

Now, I get that I have slightly eclectic tastes.  I have a "quirky" sense of humor, and half the time, I am constantly astounded at what is popular in the mainstream.  I find that the radio is a good example of this; I routinely switch the station every couple of songs or so because I just don't like what's playing.  Put it this way, a friend of mine pointed out that a good number of current/recent female artists on the music charts sounded like they were drunk (Ke$ha is a great example of this), and I simply nodded in agreement.

Anyhow, I get that even if everything worked perfectly, Amazon would probably have a hard time making suggestions that I would actually heed.  But, to make things worse, I often buy gifts or order things for my parents under my account.  Usually, this results in Amazon's recommendation system going crazy for the next few visits.  For example:
  • My mom wanted to get a dress for the daughter of a family friend.  We spent some time on my laptop browsing through designs she liked, so she could get an idea of what was available.  Ultimately, she didn't buy anything, but the damage to my viewing history was done.  For the next two weeks, the website thought I was a 12 year old girl, and treated me as such.  I think I even remember seeing a recommendation for Bratz.
  • I needed a new earring for myself, and I didn't particularly want to walk in to a place like Claire's by myself.  So, I ordered it online.  It was even cheaper than usual, too, so all was good in the world.  Well, all was good other than the fact that Amazon once again thought I was a 12 year old girl.
  • I'm not really much of a gamer, but plenty of my friends are.  So, I often buy them video games of some sort for birthday gifts.  Couple this with the two or three graphic novels (read: comic books) that I've purchased for myself, and Amazon now thinks that I am a 12 year old boy.  I consistently get recommendations for the latest game console or the latest & greatest first person shooter game (these just so happen to be my least favorite type of video game).
  • There have been a couple of musicals that friends of mine have liked enough to warrant giving them a gift related to that musical.  The soundtrack for one of these musicals, for example, ended up being a birthday gift.  Now, I actually attend the occasional musical (take that, anyone who says I'm not cultured), but this probably isn't helping my cause any.  If one were to play the odds, one would assume that I was a white, educated, 48 year old woman.
  • I have a few friends who are fans of Disney, Pixar, and/or cartoons as a whole, and there are constantly little kids at our house who need birthday presents.  It is not unheard of for me to browse for Thomas the Tank Engine toys, or to look up a Disney art book.  It all goes on my browsing history, so the recommendations are based in part on this.  Again, if you played the odds, you'd assume that I was a younger child or a very, very dedicated hobbyist.
I can only imagine what would happen if at any point they tried to do a profile of my account.  I suspect that they'd pretty much be forced to guess, and that their guesses would come down to one of two things.  Either they'd guess I suffered from a split personality disorder, or they'd guess that I was a hyperactive, sexually-ambiguous twelve year old with disposable income and way too much free time on my hands.

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  1. MicheJanuary 13, 2011 at 8:03 PM

    I think you're reading the recommendations incorrectly. They aren't recommendations of things to buy for yourself. Rather, they are recommendations to continue purchasing for everyone else so that Amazon can keep making a buck.

    ReplyDelete

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