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0 pointsmarmaduke5y ago0 comments

The problem is that it’s called a recommendation, as if your close friend, who knows you, told Amazon, hey I think this person might also want to buy XYZ. Or a jazz connoisseur says you might like this album if you liked that one.

But it’s not, it’s a tractable similarity based solution to the question of, which of millions of ads to show, in order to increase CTR.

The biggest difference is motive: a good recommendation is made in good faith for the benefit of the recipient while ads are businesses trying to turn a profit. Maybe that’s why this meme never dies.

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fxtentacle5y ago

Perfectly said.

If I had an acquaintance who's a recovering drug addict, then I would never ever recommend him to try out a new drug, because that is obviously against his best interests. But for an ethical void such as a company blindly pursuing profits, bombarding him with free samples for highly addictive drugs would be an effective strategy for increasing short-term profits.

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0 pointsmarmaduke5y ago0 comments

But it’s not, it’s a tractable similarity based solution to the question of, which of millions of ads to show, in order to increase CTR.

0 comments

fxtentacle5y ago

Perfectly said.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse