Amazon

First let me say that I *love* the creepy way Amazon remembers everything I have ever bought from them and recommends new things for me to buy. Normally I try to be as anonymous as possible online, and avoid revealing personal information to marketers, but I'm a sucker when it comes to books. My wish list is about 10 pages long.

Really the only flaw in the recommendation system is the fact that it treats textbooks just like other books. Just because I purchased "Corporations: Examples and Explanations", that doesn't mean that I'm interested in "Evidence: Examples and Explanations." I have to keep removing the law books from my recommendations list. But other than that, I love the recommendations.

So the other day I filled my Amazon shopping cart with sex toys. (Whee!) I expected to log in the next day and see my home page filled with recommendations for more sex toys, but no! The first link on the page is for laundry detergent. So I go to the "recommendations" page, and it's full of law books and DVDs of TV shows. So I go to the "Health and Personal Care" recommendations category - and I see a screen full of Burt's Bees crap. So I narrow it down even more, to the "Sex and Sensuality" sub-category... and Amazon recommends that I buy condoms. Lots and lots of condoms. Safe sex is important, of course. But what's up with this breakdown in the recommendations system? I want to know what other products were purchased by the customers who bought the Jack Rabbit 7" Multi-function Vibe Massager!