9.21.2009

netfacts

the story of Netflix's million dollar predictability contest is great because it highlights some important conclusions:

1) when you are trying to work out a problem, it is best to have a variety of people thinking differently to combine and give the best possible answer. is this the secret of marriage?

2) the equations used to more accurately predict Netflix user's taste choices will probably be used in the next ten years to more accurately target consumers across a variety of fields, thus paving the way for our lives to become more like Minority Report

3) hopefully this technology will make it so that Netflix stops recommending Father's Day, the quirky comedy starring Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, and Billy Crystal's forehead.