WebInTravel: WIT presenation 2009 - Recommendations, Long Tail and EveryYou

Tim Hughes WIT presenation 2009 - Recommendations, Long T...

tims-boot's Podcast

On doctor's orders I had to cancel my trip to WebInTravel this year. Here with slides and audio is the presentation I would have given today if I had been there.

Key themes are

1. the long tail theory is now 5 years old. That is "decades" in Internet years. It is time for a rethink;
2. we now have access to effectively unlimited computational power (technology change);
3. consumers are voluntarily giving us data and information about themselves - often for no obvious tangible gain (forwarding links, writing reviews, uploading photos, setting up detailed traveller profiles etc) (social change); and
   
4. if we work to put together the technology change and social change we can target EveryYou rather than Everyone. Can develop specific and targeted recommendations of one for an individual. Rather than a recommendation based on demographics, a recommendation of one based on the individuals unique combination of desires, needs and interests.

PS - forgive the timing of the slides, they are not quite right but the message comes through.