What's the deal with intelligents agents? Does anyone really use these things? The web site for Firefly promises that its intelligent agent recommends "music that it knows you'll enjoy." Like similar customization agents--The Similarities Engine II, for instance-- Firefly asks people to rate as many bands/movies/products as possible, then crunches the numbers to match up similar ratings and make recommendations. The more users, the more intelligent Firefly gets. Apparently, there aren't a lot of users. I went through all the Matador bands and rated them a 7 ("the best!!!") and instead of blowing up or telling me to get a life, the thing recommended similar artists. For example:
Mecca Normal: Grotus, Michael Hurley, Air, Lucky Dube, Red Garland, Don & Dewey, Wolfgang Press, FelaCome: Crash Vegas, Dish, Kenny Kirkland, David Wilcox, Mucky Pup, John Giorno, Sky Cries Mary, Rheostatics, Allman Brothers, Fetchin Bones, That Dog, Glee Club, Treat Her Right, Low Pop Suicide
Bailter Space: Dream Syndicate, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Residents, 13th Floor, Verlaines
Chavez: Simon Joyner, Red House Painters, Silver Jews, Prince, Mercy Rule
SF Seals: Jeff Beck, Sex Pistols, Neil Young, Little Richard, Violent Femmes, Janis Joplin
Liz Phair: Bottle Rockets, Wilco, Del Amitri, Martin Zellar, Poi Dog Pondering
Jon Spencer: Grifters, Mudhoney, Dick Dale, Galaxie 500, Sebadoh
What gets me is not how ridiculous (or is it "postmodern"?) the suggestions are, but why anyone would want a robot to recommend music? It's not like there isn't a ton of bad journalism to get ideas from. As for Firefly's claim that it "automates the word-of-mouth process," isn't that what the Usenet's for? Call me a Luddite but nothing beats a record store clerk who has a clue and isn't an asshole. Or good college radio. Or live shows. Or zines.
Firefly's true calling is target marketing. Any site that can convince users to spend time rating ad banners should win some sort of award. The same FAQ that insists "Firefly does not classify you into a fixed demographic group" (emphasis mine) says at the bottom "we reserve the right to use and distribute general demographic information collected by our system." I guess the redundant adjectives--demographics are by definition fixed and general--are supposed to make you think there're not lying.
