Pandora and art

I don't remember the last time I spent 4 hours on one site. But Pandora's got me. I'm gonna blog about it again.

I really love how Pandora is telling me why I like the songs I do. Every time I click "Yes, I like it" I'm adding to my list of songs I like and refining the criteria for future songs. With each rating, it gets more articulate about my tastes, far surpassing what I could have come up with myself. I'm learning about my own preference for modal harmonies, slow moving bass lines and highly synthetic sonorities.

Pandora still keeps most of its smarts to itself, which is understandable if they want to be your radio station. But take communication a little further and you a fantastic way to teach people about art and culture: telling the story through your own tastes. Imagine a service that highlights elements that your favourite paintings have in common. It would expose you to new works and when your tastes develop and change, contrast what you liked before to what you like now, explaining why and how. It would congratulate you on your growing sophistication and challenge you with art it knows you'd like if it you'd just give it a chance. It would also connect you also with similar people going on a very similar artistic journey.