Last.FM needs a "serendipity factor" dial | Trends in the Living NetworksTrends in the Living Networks

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http://www.boostzone.fr domini

Serendipity is a very important topic and it comes up regularly. The issue with it, and I have not cracked it yet, is more the “toomuch” than the “notenough”. From that angle Twitter has clearly wandered on the side of toomuch.
Any newspaper front page is a good “old”model for that, even economic news papers have serendipity built into the first page. In a way, “toomuch” is so costly in terms of time loss that I personnally prefer the “notenough” and relying on my own diversity of sources and contacts for the “right” level.
http://www.nickzdon.com Nick

This is one of the reasons I stopped listening to Pandora Radio. Telling Pandora you liked or disliked something only served to narrow the musical spectrum that was presented to you. I found my self constantly changing my preferences (gangsta rap to new age to easy listening) just to mix it up. Having to hit ‘skip’ for the next song is not the end of the world, just don’t make me do it too often.
http://petervanheusden.wordpress.com/ Peter van Heusden

I can recommend Grooveshark (www.grooveshark.com). The serendipity factor is great. I’ve also been listening to Last.fm and I liked the serendipity factor but I quit when they asked money (I’m Dutch).
http://rossdawsonblog.com Ross Dawson

Interesting comments all – thanks!
It seems people choose music channels based on their serendipity factor. This suggests that a channel that allowed you to vary this should get a lot more listeners…
Domini, that’s very insightful. A key issue is how customized content is in the first place. For example your Twitter stream is customized in who you choose to follow, though you still end up with lots that’s not of interest.
Most of us adjust the serendipity factor of our content through a portfolio of content sources. But there is still scope for a lot better single sources.
Serendipity factor adjustment transcends the problems of a ‘Daily Me’ which is too narrow.
http://www.twitter.com/noknow nok

I concur that last.fm loses it’s serendipity factor after awhile. I’ve been using 8tracks, which scrobbles with last.fm, and has made for some great discoveries. It is worth checking out.
http://rossdawsonblog.com Ross Dawson

Good tip nok! You still need to find the DJs you like, but this provides some great discoveries. 8tracks tell me they’re working on some kind of collaborative filtering system for launch in due course.

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Ross Dawson is globally recognized as a leading futurist, entrepreneur, keynote speaker, strategy advisor, and bestselling author. He is Founding Chairman of AHT Group, which consists of 3 companies: consulting, publishing, and ventures firm Advanced Human Technologies, future and strategy firm Future Exploration Network, and events company The Insight Exchange.

Ross is author most recently of Getting Results From Crowds, the prescient Living Networks, which anticipated the social network revolution, the Amazon.com bestseller Developing Knowledge-Based Client Relationships, and Implementing Enterprise 2.0. (click on the links for free chapter downloads). He is based in Sydney and San Francisco with his wife jewellery designer Victoria Buckley and two beautiful young daughters.