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Amazons Conspire Against Me! - Impressions and Expressions of Ijon

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July 4th, 2003
03:06 am

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Amazons Conspire Against Me!
While performing standard procrastination, I visited Amazon.com. The evil site greeted me like an old friend (I've been a customer since 1994), and immediately made me some "instant recommendations":
  • The Tristan Chord, by Bryan Magee
  • First Lessons in Sanskrit Grammar and Reading by Judith Tyberg
  • Coraline, by Neil Gaiman
    ...
  • ...and Terminator on DVD1.

Curious, I hit Amazon.co.uk. The site grinned knowingly and offered a host of graphic novels by Gaiman, Moore, Ennis, etc., alongside some titles by Stephen Fry and Ben Elton. *sigh*

Damn, their databases are getting to know me well...

1 Well, okay, so they missed big-time in the DVD section.

Current Mood: indulgent
Current Music: Dire Straits -- Six Blade Knife

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From:ijon
Date:July 3rd, 2003 01:51 pm (UTC)
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Heh :)

But doesn't it weigh its recommendations much more according to what you've actually purchased in the past?
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From:emblemparade
Date:July 3rd, 2003 03:35 pm (UTC)
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Nope, it counts any searched you did while logging in. I get offered some very strange kitchen appliances and GRE study guides.
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From:unfilthy
Date:July 4th, 2003 03:49 am (UTC)

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Aha! A comic fan in our midst?
I must admit that Moore and Gaiman are two of my least favorite writers, but Ennis is brilliant, and Ellis is responsible for my screen name.
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From:wildernesscat
Date:July 4th, 2003 08:54 am (UTC)

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Well, okay, so they missed big-time in the DVD section.\

Shouldn't there be a link that says something like "why did you recommend this particular title"??
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From:ijon
Date:July 4th, 2003 11:55 am (UTC)
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There probably is, but I do know how these things work: it didn't have enough information of actual browsing/purchases, so it just picked a random/popular title, instead of shutting up. That's how I get offered kitchen appliances and lawn furniture, too, even though I doubt they even ship those to Israel. If you know anyone working for Amazon, let her consider this a free tip.
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From:wildernesscat
Date:July 4th, 2003 07:06 pm (UTC)
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No, I meant - there is such a link for most items. It's called "Why?". Might be interesting to check it out. (If it's not there, Amazon is taking a wild guess).
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