Top Highlights

• The typical listener of music recommendation did not experience a rapturous abandonment of the self, but something much more mundane: background music, to be listened to while sending email at the office or working out at the gym. The girl in headphones had been pulled out of the world around her; actual listeners were usually embedded in particula...
• The previous two chapters described two dominant visions of the listener in algorithmic recommendation: the first was eager but overloaded, seeking help to manage an overwhelming array of choices; the second was an elusive potential user, whom developers had to tempt into use.