Do We Need More than Algorithms and Crowd Wisdom? - Uwe Hook - MediaBizBloggers

This decade has been ruled by algorithms and crowds. The community of users clicked, reviewed and rated their lives away, and algorithms tried to make sense out of these mountains of data. And build business models around them. Just ask Facebook, Google, Netflix or Yelp. These algorithms are the easy way out to gather information. We can choose to add our human touch and dig deeper; laziness and the design of these tools make us question the input-output ROI. And we continue to trust the algorithms.

The Social Web has added a more human component to the mix. It's often quicker/easier (and more reliable) to ask people in your Social Graph for recommendations than relying on algorithms. The reason is that people can explain their choices. Algorithms can't. Can anybody explain to the common user search query results? Why do I get recommendations for books I wouldn't even look at when purchasing another book? And where's the feedback loop that helps me get better, more relevant results? If a person recommended a movie I hated, their next recommendations will be better. Doesn't work for the godfather of algorithms.

The next phase of the web is not solely based on algorithms and crowds

We need to add a more human and editorial element to the mix. Having no transparency in understanding algorithms will lead people to distrust the results over time. We've seen that with Yelp results where many of my friends question the algorithms and compare them to corruption in Afghanistan. Adding an editorial element, curating sites and recommendations will be the next phase of the web. This might be done by integrating the social graph and algorithms, or it will be done by offering users new paths to discover and explore. Just do me favor, don't call it Web 3.0.

Uwe Hook is the CEO and Co-Founder of BatesHook, Inc. (www.bateshook.com) and a veteran of the advertising and marketing industry with the goal of building connections between people and brands. Uwe can be reached at uwe@bateshook.com.

Read all Uwe's MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Subversions.

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