Out in the Open: Build Your Own Netflix-Style Suggestion Machine for Free

Netflix has spent years building and improving its recommendation engine, and even sponsored a $1 million contest to improve its algorithm. But now anyone can download and tinker with this kind of software, thanks to a new open source project. "We wanted to build fast," says Shelby.tv CEO Reece Pacheco. "We were impressed with the product and the team [Mortar Data] had built." The company also wanted the freedom to build its own recommendation engine in the future.