margelacool

recently I have been getting a lot of random videos recommended to me

the kind of video one posts for their family or friends to see

and it seems like I am not the only one

from time to time I get a mundane wholesome video with only a few hundred views of a friend’s road trip or a 30 years old woman having a mid-life crisis

I know the recommender system tries to check if it fits my profile preferences

it’s a shot in the dark.  I remember I read a paper on how complex it is to add an exploratory variable to a recommender system because serendipity cannot be your only measure

when I see the video in the middle of my home feed, I am immediately drawn to it

usually, the thumbnail is blurry or insignificant

nothing fancy, nothing informative in the title

I click, without any expectations

curiously the video feels intimate

I am not supposed to be here

I took a different path and ended up in somebody’s backyard, and now they are offering me a homemade infusion with an olive oil zesty spongy cake

I know from my cognitive science master’s why I enjoy this feeling of discovery, exploration. It’s all about the exploration/exploitation trade-off.  I can explain why I love new and random stuff. My hunter-gatherer mind loves discovering new berries

That’s kinda wild when you think about it for a second

In the same time, I don’t really care

I found the explanation cool for a second, I remember Edgar’s inspiring writing and research

Then I move on to enjoy the last seconds of this sweet online souvenir

I watch it fade away

I am  grateful for being immersed in somebody sweet memory tape for a few seconds

thanks to all the people who post wholesome or midlife crisis videos

thanks to the recommender system

thanks to my exploratory preferences

and to new sweet online souvenirs

see ya

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Credit to Emilie Lor/@_kkhomos for the speedy snail (go check her work now)