Pandora is MicroTargeting For Your Music
Pandora is one of the most popular and innovative music sites out there. By simply typing in the name of a song or artist you like, Pandora will instantly play back a song with corresponding musical traits. Basically, it takes a song you already like, and spits back another song it thinks you would like.
How does Pandora do this, and what does it have to do with MicroTargeting?
Well, behind the simple, streamlined Pandora website lies the Music Genome Project, a complex system through which a music expert analyzes each song according to its “genes,” or attributes. These genes may include the level of guitar distortion, the intensity of the bass, or even whether the lyrics tell a story. Every gene in a song is given a number, or score. It is these numbers that allow Pandora to match the characteristics of one song to those of another, thereby predicting another song that might become your new favorite.
In fact, this is a lot like what we do here at TargetPoint. The “genes” that we use, however, correspond not to the attributes of a song, but instead to those of a person. We obtain these attributes by analyzing the rhythm, beat, and lyrics of their lives. Do they own or rent? Are they married or single? What are their hobbies and interests? Do they prefer the theater or NASCAR? What type of car do they own? These are just a few examples of the thousands of data points we use to figure out each person’s individual “song.”
By analyzing these attributes and combining them with individual political data (like voter turnout or party registration), we are able to predict how a group of people, all with similar attributes, will respond to candidates, elections, policy issues, and much more. Just as Pandora uses the data you input to predict your music tastes, we use the data that you input out into the world to predict your political tastes.
Not familiar with Pandora? Check it out here: http://www.pandora.com/
And here you can get a taste of the breadth and depth of the attributes Pandora uses to microtarget your playlist: link
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