Pop Culture Recommendations

Great Web Site: Pandora Music Discovery Service

Every once in a while a friend will show me a site that absolutely blows my mind. The latest example is Pandora.

Don't be surprised if your first reaction to Pandora involves guffawing, swearing and general awestruckedness. It's that cool.

So what is this thing? In short, it's the world's greatest DJ. I'm not kidding. If you're constantly on the look-out for great songs and artists, Pandora is tailor made for you. In a few simple clicks you can enter artists and songs you like, and Pandora -- employing Web-based voodoo I can't begin to understand -- uses that data to serve up music that's similar to the stuff you love.

And here's the thing: IT WORKS!

I've seen other applications try this "suggestion" maneuver, but the songs that come up usually suck ... hard. But not this time. The wizards behind Pandora got it right, and they deserve some big-time credit for unleashing a truly amazing application. (They also deserve heaps of praise for creating one of the most usable interfaces I've ever seen -- finally, someone found a good use for Flash!)

To the folks at Pandora, I extend a huge congratulations for a job well done. I hope you make a billion dollars from this one!

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Posted by Mac Slocum on March 24, 2006 12:29 PM
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