Is Usable Discovery The Holy Grail?
I think the problem with usable discovery is not only does it have difficulty discerning my interests from my actions, but it doesn’t which of my past actions are related to my current concerns. There needs to be some way for the searcher setting parameters themselves for usable discovery to be useful. Case in point: Purchases on Amazon does not work as a discovery mechanism because the fact that I regularly buy children’s books for family members does not mean I have an interest in seeing information about children’s books except near their birthdays and Christmas. For that matter I don’t want to see web design books in my recommendations when I’m looking a new novel to read. Similary with Facebook. I am glad to see what my nephew is up to, but I don’t want to have to wade through every child in the Barrington, RI school system to see if there are friends of friends that I might want to connect to.
