A recommendation is more useful when you know something about the person making it. A friend who understands your taste can tell you more in a few words than a popularity ranking can.
A parent recommending a place to eat with young children is answering a different question from a food critic. Someone who walks the same muddy paths knows why you care about a particular pair of boots. Good recommendations begin with that kind of context, not an algorithm's guess about what it can sell you.
Use recommendations and optional profile plugins to share books, films, shows, music and other interests. A friend can find them when they're looking for something, even if you mentioned it weeks ago. Add why you liked it: that is often the most useful part.
