Netflix's New User Rating and Recommendation Systems Helps Clutter

Netflix’s New User Rating and Recommendation Systems Helps Clutter

Netflix is continuing to make changes in the hopes of improving it’s product, as the streaming service announced they are changing their user rating system. Instead of using the tradition star based method, the company has opted for something far simpler.

The new rating system will now follow a black and white sort of mindset, with the choice between giving a show a thumbs up or a thumbs down. While it’s not entirely groundbreaking – as sites like Reddit have implemented a similar called upvotes and downvotes – the new system feels far more modernized.

“We made ratings less important because the implicit signal of your behavior is more important,” Netflix VP of Product Todd Yellin stated during a press briefing.

The system will work similar to that of the pandora music stations thumbs up and thumbs down feature. A thumbs up will find shows or movies that are similar to the one that the user just thumbed up, while a thumbs down will not suggest the title anymore.

This change comes shortly after the company implemented a new skip opening button for online streaming services earlier this week. Just like the skip feature, Netflix has been testing the new system since last year, with significant positive results, seeing a 200% increase in ratings from users.

Shows that have less than a 50% match won’t show up on the new recommendations system, so it’ll be easier to find shows that you like

The system will also implement a percentage-based suggestion based approach to helping users find similar products. Recommendations will now show up as a percentage match for each user, making the list of similar shows much easier to pick from.

It’s unknown exactly when Netflix will begin implementing the new feature, but it will be coming soon, so be sure to check back to the site for updates and all of your Nerdy News!