Algorithms use ratings, rankings and recommendations to present us with items Before items can be ranked, they need a measure by which they can be ordered This is really a rating of each item's quality according to some criterion With ranked lists in hand, websites may turn around and make recommendations This is really a rating of each item's quality according to some criterion This holiday season, when we Google for the most trending gifts, compare different items on Amazon or take a break to watch a holiday movie on Netflix, we are making use of what might be called'the three R's' of the Internet Age: rating, ranking and recommending Apple's new AirPods are tough to recycle: Breakdown reveals... How to win like Andy Murray: Adversity and hardship could be... Does hurting a girlfriend's CAT make you more immoral than... The root of human kindness is NOT in our ancestors:... Apple's new AirPods are tough to recycle: Breakdown reveals... How to win like Andy Murray: Adversity and hardship could be... Does hurting a girlfriend's CAT make you more immoral than... The root of human kindness is NOT in our ancestors:... Websites' algorithms use the'new 3 Rs' to combine, process and synthesize information before presenting it to us. AMAZON'S ALGORITHM DOESN'T ALWAYS GIVE THE BETTER PRICE Before items can be ranked, they need a measure by which they can be ordered This is really a rating of each item's quality according to some criterion With ranked lists in hand, websites may turn around and make recommendations Amazon has mechanisms in place to screen out these sorts of reviews – for example, by requiring a purchase to have been made from a given account before it can submit a review. The prime example of recommendation systems is Netflix's method.