Features
Gigs & Bytes: Peter Gabriel’s Filter
Or you could use The Filter.
That’s the name of Peter Gabriel’s new social Web site that launched June 3. At The Filter, you pick what you like in music, movies, TV and other media, and the Web site’s intelligence agents use that information to serve up content tailored for you.
“The Internet, which I think is an amazing creation, provides access to an ocean of limitless information, but without filtering it’s easy to drown,” Gabriel said. “But if you have this little friend on your shoulder, that can pick out music to listen to and films to look at, it’s something I would use provided I could steer it a little.”
And Gabriel gives users plenty to steer with.
The Filter experience starts with you setting up your own account, in which you’re polled as to what kinds of entertainment you like. Picking three music genres leads you to specific examples within those genres, where you indicate whether you like those individual selections. The more interaction, the more The Filter learns about what you like. And dislike.
What’s more, there are also add-ins designed to look at your digital library and see what tunes are already among your faves. Not only music, but other entertainment mediums as well.
“The Filter integrates the best of both approaches, man and machine, and takes data learned in one area to help guide in another,” Gabriel said. “For example, data about musical taste can help produce better selections in film, or someone else’s tastes – friend, celebrity, whatever – can be mashed up with your own to provide new and interesting discoveries. As well as being fantastically useful, this thing is real fun too.”
Users receive a daily homepage of music, film and Web video recommendations designed for the individual. The site also employs “dynamic” filters designed to enable users to discover more music and movies they may like based on their profile selections. Additionally, users can import online profiles from other sites they may use, such as Last.fm or Flixster, to help define their entertainment tastes.
The social aspects of The Filter are based on entertainment preferences as well. Want to know about another music genre? Filter users already well-versed in that area can help you. Just as you can help them when they venture into your knowledge zone.
The core of The Filter’s cyber brain hails from a branch of artificial intelligence called Bayesian mathematics. Simply put, when you select what interests you, The Filter’s programming then delivers items statistically relevant items.
But The Filter is more than just a pick list, more than just matching Iron Maiden to Metallica or “Star Wars” to “Star Trek.” The list of possible recommendations is fed through several filters designed to further tailor the content to your personal profile. Plus, users can add filters to recognize mood, outside influences, third-party experts or reviewers.
And if that isn’t enough to entice you to try Gabriel’s Filter, there’s also the possibility you might make some money as well.
As The Filter grows in user population, there may even be opportunities to sell your profile. That is, if other users want the same recommendations you’re receiving based upon your own profile, according to The Times Online U.K.
The Filter was founded by Gabriel and Martin Hopkins, a huge jazz fan. It was Hopkins who came up with the idea of using filters to sift through content and discover music based on one’s preferences.
And what did Peter Gabriel tell The Filter? The artist recently had soul music on his personal page, and indicated that he’s a fan of Radiohead and Sigur Ros.
“It’s the attraction of being still in touch with interesting and new things without having to make the effort to research them all the time,” Gabriel said. “I’m a tired thumb person, I’m a channel clicker. Maybe it’s a male thing. I know there’s good stuff I’d love to watch out there but I don’t want to search all the time.”