Amazon.com's Recommendation Algorithm Applied To Life Events

[David Baxter PhD]

AMAZON.COM'S RECOMMENDATION ALGORITHM APPLIED TO LIFE EVENTS
BY MARIBETH MOONEY

Customers who just got fired also had this happen:

• The commencement of a vigorous job search
  
• An abundance of time to travel
  
• An unappreciated talent for heavy drinking and sleeping until noon
  
• The stealing of condiments and toilet paper from the neighborhood diner

What do customers ultimately do after this experience?

• Make appointments with headhunters
  
• Renew their passports
  
• Get out of their pajamas before 9 p.m.
  
• Community service due to incriminating surveillance footage

Customers who had just broken up with their boyfriends also had this happen:

• A discovery of newfound freedom
  
• An appreciation for having loved and lost
  
• An intense desire for ice cream, vodka, and revenge
  
• A charge of stalking and a subsequent warrant for their arrest

What do customers ultimately do after this experience?

• Go out and have fun with girlfriends
  
• Take up a new hobby
  
• A series of 12-step programs
  
• One to three with good behavior

Customers who had just been asked to be bridesmaids for the ninth time also had this happen:

• A deepening of their friendship bond
  
• A belief that a soulmate really does exist for all
  
• A sudden fear of harming oneself and others
  
• An overnight stay for psychiatric evaluation

What do customers ultimately do after this experience?

• Excitedly plan a shower and a bachelorette party
  
• Try on dresses and shoes
  
• Two milligrams of Xanax twice a day
  
• Shun sharp objects, line-dancing, and calligraphers