February 13, 2003

Recommender Systems: Dr. Joseph Konstan - University of Minnesota

You're invited to the next meeting of the Usability Professionals Association (UPA) - Minnesota chapter. We've invited Joe Konstan to tell us about Recommender Systems and how they help users find what they want. He'll also talk about the role of usability in developing Recommender Systems. Come, learn about and discuss these neat, new systems that Joe's been working with.

Please RSVP by emailing Lyle_Kantrovich@cargill.com if you plan to attend and indicate the number of guests you've invited. Help build our membership by forwarding this note to others who might be interested.

Meeting Details:

Date/Time:
February 13th / 6:00pm
Place:
US Bank, Riverbank Facility
Address:
2751 Shepard Rd., St. Paul, MN
Phone:
612.396.6573 or 612.220.7627
Hosts:
US Bank User Experience Group
Speaker(s):
Dr. Joseph Konstan - University of Minnesota
Topic:
Recommender Systems

Agenda:

Presentation Overview:

If you've used Amazon.com or eBay, you might not have realized you were using a 'Recommender System.' Joe Konstan has been researching the use of Recommender Systems and how they help users find the information, products, and other people they most want to find. Joe will give an overview of Recommender Systems, what problems they help solve for users, and what role usability has played in developing Recommender Systems so far. He'll review a number of recommender applications and their user interfaces and talk about when to consider using Recommender Systems in business applications.

About the Speaker: Joseph A. Konstan, Ph.D.

Joe is an associate professor at the University of Minnesota. He's a co-founder of Net Perceptions, a local, leading vendor of recommender systems. He recently co-authored the book Word of Mouse: The Marketing Power of Collaborative Filtering about applications of recommender systems.

RSVP & Dues

Please email Lyle_Kantrovich@cargill.com if you plan to attend. Please indicate the number of guests, if any, you've invited.

Visitors and past members are welcome, but are asked to pay five dollars if they haven't paid chapter dues for the year.

Note that membership runs from January to December, so you'll want to renew your membership now that 2003 is here.

Directions & Map:

map to US Bank

Driving Directions:

From the North and East:

  1. Take I-35E South then take the MN-5/West 7TH ST exit- exit number 103B
  2. Turn RIGHT onto FORT RD/MN-5/W 7TH ST
  3. Turn LEFT onto MONTREAL AVE
  4. Then turn RIGHT onto ELWAY ST
  5. Turn RIGHT onto SHEPARD RD. US Bank is right next to the Buca restaurant
  6. Enter the building at the main entrance on the East side (not the side with the big awning)
  7. You'll need to check-in and be escorted to the meeting room.

From the West:

  1. Take I-494 South/East (towards the airport)
  2. Merge onto MN-5 East toward MAIN TERM./ST PAUL VIA 7TH
  3. Take the NORFOLK AVE exit
  4. Turn RIGHT onto DAVERN ST/DAVERN AVE
  5. Turn SLIGHT RIGHT onto SHEPARD RD
  6. US Bank is right next to the Buca restaurant
  7. Enter the building at the main entrance on the East side (not the side with the big awning)
  8. You'll need to check-in and be escorted to the meeting room.

MapQuest Directions from your location: http://tinyurl.com/5ea0

Upcoming Meetings & Events:

Do you have an idea for a future meeting topic or know someone you think would be a good invited speaker? Contact Lyle (lyle_kantrovich@cargill.com) with your suggestions.

Last update: February 11, 2003