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Ask HN: How could I optimize YouTube to show more relevant videos?

2 points by crisp ↗ HN
Sometimes when I want to learn something, I'd open Youtube, do my search query, glance the results and choose 1-2 videos to watch. However, when I've learnt the stuff, I necessarily don't want to see more videos related to that subject. For example, I saw a video explaining how car clutch works. After watching that, it's not like I want to see 20 more videos about car clutches explained by 20 different people. Yet, those videos seem to pop up in the recommended section.

Things I've tried: 1) Use incognito mode for the subjects that I'm interested only once 2) Enhance the recommended section by removing the non-interesting channels from the list 3) Remove non-interesting videos from the search and watch history 4) Do queries to fake interests

Unfortunately, none of these seem to work. Almost everytime I open Youtube, I cannot find the videos I'd be interested in. I'm not sure want I want to see but most of the time it's hardly anything that is offered.

2 comments

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aurizon
Make a number of searches on "Artificial Insemination of Sheep", and you will get less car clutch stuff. The trouble is google thought your life's work was about clutches - you got lots.... As your search focus shifts, so will the adds/suggested videos. When your friend is away from his computer, repeat that AI of sheep search a few times.... sit back - laff.
brudgers
My experience is that Chrome's incognito mode limits information but does not seem to do so in a way that affects Google's business model. For a clean slate, use a different browser or a whole different Chrome identity or run in a VM...or adjust your Google settings to forget about you (which means Google remembers that you're a person who they need to apply "forget about me" settings.