Newgrounds Recommendation System

[EKublai]

I don't know the first thing about programming, but I'm always interested in what makes the internet such an efficient machine. In particular, I've always wondered about the algorithms of searching, the ones that have made Google, and Netflix the powerhouses they are.

I mention Netflix not really because of their great recommendation systems, but for their intense use of crowdsourcing for making a recommendation engine that is 10% better than their current system. Those of you familiar with the NetFlix Prize probably know where I'm going with this. This whole thing was brought to my attention by the article "The Netflix Challenge" in this month's issue of Wired.

Hopefully you are all open to the idea of a bigger newgrounds community. I'm not talking massively large, Newgrounds wouldn't be Newgrounds if we opened it up like that. I'm talking about people who are seriously into quality animation, but don't have the resources or time to mindlessly wade through the flash file system.

I think the Recommendation system at Newgrounds isn't being utilized to its potential, and I think the reason is because it has been engineered to its fullest potential. Yeah sure we can all see how Waterlollies can lead to the likes of The Composer, There She Is, and Metropolis, but it's kind of ridiculous that my most popular submission, a soundboard, get recommendations like Interactive Buddy and Dress My Babe.

I don't want to go into much more detail until I get a few responses because few people will read a whole speech. But I think the future of Newgrounds lies in the Recommendation System. Ideas?

[Afro-Ninja]

At 2/24/08 06:11 PM, EKublai wrote: I don't want to go into much more detail until I get a few responses because few people will read a whole speech. But I think the future of Newgrounds lies in the Recommendation System. Ideas?

Well, I think an important thing to note here is that netflix charges you money. If people are going to spend money on their next rental, they want it to be good. Everything on newgrounds though is free, so no big loss if you didn't find what you wanted

I'm not saying a better system wouldn't be beneficial, but I have no idea how exactly the current system works and what it would involve to improve it.

[EKublai]

At 2/24/08 06:20 PM, Afro-Ninja wrote:

At 2/24/08 06:11 PM, EKublai wrote:

Well, I think an important thing to note here is that netflix charges you money. If people are going to spend money on their next rental, they want it to be good. Everything on newgrounds though is free, so no big loss if you didn't find what you wanted

I'm not saying a better system wouldn't be beneficial, but I have no idea how exactly the current system works and what it would involve to improve it.

good point, but I think we need to look at it differently. Like, for instance, when were the times that people came flooding to Newgrounds? They were during the internet crazes (Numa Numa, Charlie the Unicorn) controversies (Target Practice, Virginia Tech Game) and pretty just when Newgrounds had something that caught the public eye before all the other websites had it. After that they left, dismissing Newgrounds as a place that got lucky, but didn't really have anything else to offer. I mean look at our Top 50, it's full of flashes relating to the site and then there's a bunch of artsy stuff.

People out of Newgrounds will come in, watch flashes like Tankmen and be like, ha that was pretty good, I wish there were more like. No one who doesn't use the site is familiar with or wants to take the time to use the search bar for related stuff. The things that keep people from leaving after they've been drawn in are these 'hidden treasures' we keep talking about on here. We need a system will say "Oh you liked NSFW's The Miracle? Why not try Schiendlin's Reign then? Or Lost Rhapsody?" I think it would basically help people see more of what they want to see without having to go through all the effort. Newgrounds will remain the same in principle, but to the audience will become more like youtube than addictinggames

[Jon-86]

If people are too lazy to use a search feature. Thats their loss. This idea seems like unnecessary work to me.