This little doodle gives some insight into the inherent problems of using visitor profiles to target recommendations. We’ve all been at a site or two where the recommendations just don’t make much sense–what would happen in a real store using that same profile-based targeting system?

Driving the right people to the right places is a hot topic at the TechCrunch 50 conference. Mobile technologies has improved to facilitate the advancement of location based product recommendations. Companies like GoodRecs are allowing users to explicitly rate restaurants, books, and nightlife by giving a thumbs up-thumbs down type rating indicator.
Survey Bias. I [...]