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Comment by jscoop | Hacker News Reader

Aforementioned co-founder here. I think there is a lot room for improvement, but the site successfully does the core of what we set out to do. If we can't direct traffic to it now, the question is will continued improvements eventually lead people to use the site, or are we just putting lipstick on a pig.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

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I don't see much value in it to the user. Your competition is the netflix algorithm...how do you differentiate?

The thing with Netflix is it only works after you've given them your money. They do have a great recommendation algorithm, but ours lets anyone get results, without requiring you to 1) be a paying customer and 2) already have chosen dozens of things you already like.

There's no barrier of entry.

That Netflix has one's money makes it profitable. Is this a for profit site you're designing?

True. Yes it is a for-profit site, although as of now only through amazon affiliate links. We have no plans for any kind of subscription model similar to theirs.

Netflix and similar algorithms are based on networks (I believe). Since Persons A and B liked the same show, let's recommend the other shows that Person B liked to Person A. They of course have the advantage of a huge database of user preferences, and teams of programmers.

This site allows you to put in one show after you finish it and gives other shows you might like. You don't have to rate other shows and develop a profile. Perhaps simplicity is the site's most important trait.

Our site has a database of shows that have been rated on various attributes pertaining to the type of show and its style. The hope is that rating shows based on these attributes similar to what Pandora does for music can allow for different types of recommendations compared to Netflix and recommending based on a network of user preference links.

Thanks for the feedback.

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