Google Tech Talk: Social Recommendations April 10, 2008, 1 p.m. Presented by Dan Carroll of

Introduction Social recommendations, a new lens Hyper-relevant results delivered through hierarchical social relationships

Social recommendations, a new lens

Hyper-relevant results delivered through hierarchical social relationships

Introduction Information age: access v. experience Design principle: respect for the beauty, complexity, diversity and evolution of the human condition

Information age: access v. experience

Design principle: respect for the beauty, complexity, diversity and evolution of the human condition

Overview Recommendations today Benefits and limitations General concepts of social recommendation Why it is important? What are the opportunities? What are the challenges? Current efforts in social recommendation SoMR, the Social Media Recommendation engine Questions

Recommendations today

Benefits and limitations

General concepts of social recommendation

Why it is important?

What are the opportunities?

What are the challenges?

Current efforts in social recommendation

SoMR, the Social Media Recommendation engine

Questions

Recommendations today Provide access Play a critical role in our lives

Provide access

Play a critical role in our lives

Examples What to read: What to hear:

What to read:

More Examples What to watch: What is news:

What to watch:

More Examples Where to Eat: Where to work:

Where to Eat:

More Examples Who to date: Who to marry:

Who to date:

What works Current search engines provide examples of successful recommendations based on spidered data and requested information.

Current search engines provide examples of successful recommendations based on spidered data and requested information.

What also works Amazon, Netflix and iTunes provide examples of successful recommendations based on the ratings of their users.

Amazon, Netflix and iTunes provide examples of successful recommendations based on the ratings of their users.

Limitations Tyranny of the bored (Bill Goldsmith of Radio Paradise) Leave Brittany Alone on YouTube

Tyranny of the bored (Bill Goldsmith of Radio Paradise)

Leave Brittany Alone on YouTube

Monotony of the masses

The pigeon hole

What’s next Social recommendation assumes Friends and other connections are trusted sources of information. Social relevancy can provide a superior experience.

Social recommendation assumes

Friends and other connections are trusted sources of information.

Social relevancy can provide a superior experience.

Why is this important

Why is this important We’re designing future experiences.

We’re designing future experiences.

Assumptions Access-based recommenders (i.e. search engines) assume you know what you want and you’re willing to take the time to find it. Social recommendations can enhance access-based recommenders or create a completely new experience.

Access-based recommenders (i.e. search engines) assume you know what you want and you’re willing to take the time to find it.

Social recommendations can enhance access-based recommenders or create a completely new experience.

Challenges Privacy Control Relevance v. permanence

Privacy

Control

Relevance v. permanence

Current efforts YouTube Facebook’s friend recommender TrustedOpinion Social Suggester Stumble Upon MyStrands

YouTube

Facebook’s friend recommender

TrustedOpinion

Social Suggester

Stumble Upon

MyStrands

What’s next Curated experience Socializing the web

Curated experience

Socializing the web

Amazon socialized Discovery may indeed be for web 2.0 what search was for web 1.0.

Discovery may indeed be for web 2.0 what search was for web 1.0.

Yelp socialized

YouTube socialized

What’s needed An initiative that ties together the social graph, relationship data from closed social networks and content identifiers. Person to person relationships and person to content relationships could follow users throughout the sites they visit. Contact dan@somr.org

An initiative that ties together the social graph, relationship data from closed social networks and content identifiers.

Person to person relationships and person to content relationships could follow users throughout the sites they visit.

Contact dan@somr.org

Opportunity Utilization of friend of friend and usage data to make intelligent recommendations based on actions and interactions Recommendation becomes curated experience

Utilization of friend of friend and usage data to make intelligent recommendations based on actions and interactions

Recommendation becomes curated experience

SoMR: Social Media Recommendation API Algorithm to generate recommendations by social relevancy Web service for social recommendation Delivers superior content and advertising Creates new social media experiences

Algorithm to generate recommendations by social relevancy

Web service for social recommendation

Delivers superior content and advertising

Creates new social media experiences

Current project

New genre (geo-location)

New social media experiences

SoMR design principles Beauty Complexity Diversity Evolution Designers of applications, social networks and content sites need to be focused on social interactions and human-centric responses which respect these human qualities.

Beauty

Complexity

Diversity

Evolution

SoMR technical design elements Influence as primary metric Dynamic formula Social relationships, activity, implicit and explicit Supplemental not substitutional

Influence as primary metric

Dynamic formula

Social relationships, activity, implicit and explicit

Supplemental not substitutional

Build superior media applications Provide lift for advertising networks Add social relevance to existing applications, platforms and sites SoMR API allows:

Build superior media applications

Provide lift for advertising networks

Add social relevance to existing applications, platforms and sites

Mashed-up applications Cross-platform social intelligence Social relevance within your content site What will you build?

Mashed-up applications

Cross-platform social intelligence

Social relevance within your content site

Build something – [email_address] Optimize Advertising – [email_address] Or just find out more – somr.org Thanks! Dan Carroll [email_address] .org Interested? Then,

Build something – [email_address]

Optimize Advertising – [email_address]

Or just find out more – somr.org

Thanks! Dan Carroll [email_address] .org