Who knows you better, your friends or a really big database paired with an algorithm?

Here’s the scenario: A friend recommends a movie to you that he/she thinks you’ll enjoy. You take a look at the Netflix reviews and see that according to users who rate movies in a manner similar to yourself that you probably won’t like it. What do you do?

Before you decide, let me complicate the issue further. Netflix operates on a subscription model. You pay a flat fee each month for as many movies as you can watch, more or less. That means taking your friend’s movie advice will not cost you any more than not taking it, only time spent watching it. Score one for the friend.

There’s more, Netflix is regarded as having one of the best suggestion engines on the internet. This is accomplished by asking you to rate movies you’ve seen on a five star scale. They can then compare that with ratings from other users and determine which movies you are most likely to enjoy, and not just because all users enjoyed a film but users with similar tastes to yours. They’re so confident of their suggestion engine that last year they offered a million dollar reward to anyone who can equivocally prove that they’ve created a better algorithm for movie suggestions. Score one for Netflix.

I think that pretty much illustrates the problem. I realize it’s not as big as global warming but it’s one of those little problems that we as humans must deal with on an almost daily basis. Who do we trust? Our friends who no doubt have our best interests at heart but may not know us as well as they think or a faceless database that has the wisdom of the crowd.

What did I do? The film, Lonesome Jim, is still in my queue but it keeps getting bumped down by other stuff like SNL: The Best of Will Ferrell. The database is definitely winning this round.

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