07

Nov

By Dennis R. Mortensen
1 comment
Algorithms and Editors Working together is a winning formula

There’s been no shortage in commentary lately, which speaks to the idea of personalization, behavioral targeting and generally algorithms not being fully up to the task of serving readers with the content they want (*want is not an exact match with what they click, but that is for another post):

I am largely in agreement with folks like Eli Pariser, that we run the risk of creating a filter bubble, as he so politely calls it, in his book and the above Mashable article.

“It’s clear the current [personalization] platforms don’t get us there on their own. But by striking a balance between editors and code, Pariser thinks we can get the best of both worlds.”

So, sorry about the advertising, but welcome to Visual Revenue! I am super happy to see I am not alone in the belief that Algorithms and Editors Working together is a winning formula! The Visual Revenue platform allow Editors to teach and bend our Algorithms as they desire, and I am proud to state that we are, however corny it may sound, the editor’s knowledgable sidekick, certainly not the other way around.

Features like the following speak directly to Editors teaching and bending our Recommendations, in regards to what content to promote on their homepage in real-time;

  • No more than 10% of the stories can be Gossip.Showing the engine that our editorial tone is in hard news.  Though entertainment stories are allowed, don’t turn my front page into a Jersey Shore fan page.
  • Pinning a story to the Hero spot for 4 hours. Telling the engine to bugger off and NOT recommend other stories to this position, and by the way, don’t suggest this content to move elsewhere.
  • Pass on this recommendation for the next 30 min. Telling the engine, that I get it, but you know what, I am comfortable with what I have for now.  However, if it still resonates with my audience a bit later, please bring the recommendation back to my attention.

I think you get the gist of how we operate and who we serve! It is not just about making the biggest revenue opportunity for our publishers; it is about making sure, while doing so, that we help and assist the editor in keeping their integrity and editorial tone intact.

Cheers :-)
/ Dennis (@dennismortensen)

  • http://tumbleweedmarketinganalytics.com/ Tumbleweed

    I agree about the importance of algorithms and editors working together. And I have an interesting point to share about the impact of new technologies – such as the Visual Revenue platform – on organizational culture. Until the late 1980′s, I would guess, Ad agencies were very verbally collaborative environments. This, I am sure, had much to do with the rather low-tech nature of creative development: artists would do drawings, sketches, paper-based models of whatever they were developing; writers would draft and share paper-based copy. Collaboration around these renderings (eg. one-to-one or group brainstorming sessions) were ongoing and required intense verbal communication: as have traditional newsrooms and editorial environments. However, just as technology (eg. Adobe, animation etc.) has transformed agencies from verbal, collaborative, more technical environments, so too may an editorial, algorithm-based platform (not necessarily a bad thing). However, the point is to be aware of the organizational-cultural implications of moving from an open-verbal editorial environment to one that is more focused on online collaboration and decision-making. Good work, though, Visual Revenue.