The Burden of Choice : Recommendations, Subversion, and Algorithmic Culture

241 Pages·15.332 MB·English

by  Jonathan Cohn

The Burden of Choice

The Burden of Choice
Recommendations, Subversion,
and Algorithmic Culture
JONATHAN COHN
Rutgers University Press
New Brunswick, Camden, and Newark, New Jersey, and London
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Cohn, Jonathan, author.
Title: The burden of choice : recommendations, subversion, and algorithmic culture /
by Jonathan Cohn.
Description: New Brunswick : Rutgers University Press [2019] | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018031140 | ISBN 978081359782 (cloth) | ISBN 9780813597812 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Consumer be hav ior. | Consumer profiling. | Consumption (Economics)
Classification: LCC HF5415.32 .C643 2019 | DDC 306.3— dc23
LC rec ord available at https:// lccn. loc .g ov / 2018031140
A British Cataloging- in- Publication rec ord for this book is available from the British Library.
Copyright © 2019 by Jonathan Cohn
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written
permission from the publisher. Please contact Rutgers University Press, 106 Somerset Street,
New Brunswick, NJ 08901. The only exception to this prohibition is “fair use” as defined by
U.S. copyright law.
The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National
Standard for Information Sciences— Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials,
ANSI Z39.48-1992.
www .r utgersuniversitypress . org
Manufactured in the United States of Amer i ca
For Jaimie
Frontispiece: Tweet from Mike Pesca in response to Paul Ryan, February 22, 2017
Every thing is a recommendation.
— Xavier Amatriain and Justin Basilico, Netflix

Contents
Introduction: Data Fields of Dreams 1
1 A Brief History of Good Choices 27
2 Female Labor and Digital Media: Pattie Maes and
the Birth of Recommendation Systems and
Social Networking Technologies 54
3 Mapping the Stars: TiVo’s, Netflix’s, and Digg’s Digital
Media Distribution and Talking Back to Algorithms 82
4 Love’s L abor’s Logged: The Weird Science
of Matchmaking Systems and Its Parodies 125
5 The Mirror Phased: Embodying the
Recommendation via Virtual Cosmetic
Surgeries and Beautification Engines 158
Conclusion: On H andling Toddlers and Structuring
the Limits of Knowledge 186
Acknowle dgments 191
Notes 193
Index 221
ix