Highly recommended

I have always asked for recommendations for things to watch—on the lunch table at work, from Lisa over the evening drink. I hand them out too.?

I ignore some and try the others. When I do, I always compliment and thank my recommenders.?

Lately, I’ve been thinking about recommendations. What they really do for us. Beyond the profound-but-banal “tyranny of choice” thing.?

We’re bored of ourselves

All of us get stuck in a rut. Our own algorithms become stale to us. For me, it’s political thrillers (always America), badland politics-cops-criminal stories, a certain type of?documentary. We scan the poster to see if it fits our expectations.

Breaking out of it by ourselves is a struggle, like trying to give yourself a haircut. Recommendations insert that freshness when the trust we place in the recommender overrides our mental algorithm. It expands us.?

The trusted recommender not only permits that override but insures us against a terrible choice. It’s important, therefore, that the recommender isn’t?too?unlike us. The trusted ‘reco’ also has a perverse side: when it plays into our comfort zone, we feel validated; our choices and algorithms are good, after all. That’s because…??

…we want to fit in

Asking for recommendations helps us fit in and keep up. It gives us the fuel and the permission for commentary, and thus the attention of peers. The consultant/op-ed word is ‘currency’ (it’s almost as good as the real thing).??

We want to show interest?

When meeting new people, asking for recommendations puts us in a beta position, inviting the other to be alpha and take the lead. It’s an investment towards the next conversation, and a match of tastes can be the “beginning of a beautiful friendship.” (That’s my recommendation for?Casablanca*?snuck into the letter).??

We’re culture gurus

Giving recommendations is more gratifying than getting them. We are a guide for the seeker; we are a benefactor; we are our best self. Conversely, we may allow ourselves a little sulk when our protégé strays from the true path, the tasteless moron.?

Apps want to feel human too??

Amazon, Instagram, Spotify and YouTube all want to get better at recommendations. Their businesses depend on it.

As with people, our estimation of an app rises (it’s YouTube for me), when we get that perfect video on Nietzsche (191 views) or the cat tipping coke cans over the edge of a kitchen counter (2.2 m views). Personalisation beats popularity.????

In 2021, we collaborated with?BookMyShow, India’s biggest entertainment ticketing platform. However, they do much more than ticketing.?

With the pandemic came empty theatres and venues, so BookMyShow bolstered its new streaming service, with exclusive movies and shows.?

Still, in the consumer’s mind, they’re seen as a ticketing company. They needed to be seen as an intelligent curator and supplier of events, entertainment and culture. In other words, a?recommender.?

Recommend more to recommend better

But for an app, unlike a human recommender, that meant learning about its user by becoming better at showing more of what it has to offer. In trade jargon, be more discoverable. Giving them ideas for better discovery was the way to go.??

Rather than focusing on the characteristics of the movie or play alone, we started exploring the life-states of the user. We proposed that BookMyShow’s suggestions would be more relevant if they responded to the user’s context—how far from me? when? muggy weather? going with friends? staying in? And make users feel heard and understood.?

So we designed a repository of?widgets that would pick up subtle changes in the user’s world—the effect of rain on their mood, the week or month, what’s making noise in their corner of the world—to recommend things with sensitivity.?

Some of these widgets have been deployed and you will see many others later. If you have BookMyShow, look under SHORTCUTS on the home screen. You’ll see that it might not be the same on your friend’s phone. It’s personalised, like your social or music feed.????

This is how BookMyShow will be seen as a first stop for planning an evening, staying in or stepping out. The relationship deepens.?

It’s tempting to anthropomorphise (the scholarly word for ‘make machines (objects, animals) look human’). It is the basis of every Pixar film from?Toy Story?onwards. Let’s do it backwards.

Are we just recommendation engines constantly tweaking our database of experiences, and are our recommendations the entire human conversation? (While we stay entertained, of course).

Any ideas for what to watch this weekend??

Itu

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*An iconic line from the 1942 classic which features on multiple all-time great lists.

On your watch

A movie, a play and a show walk into a bar. ‘Why is everyone talking about us?’, the movie asks the bartender. ‘Currency pal, that’s how they pay for drinks’, replied the bartender, a part-time consultant.?Full BookMyShow design story?here.