In these scenarios, it’s easy to imagine a consumer asking a waiter or store clerk what they’d recommend, but those people probably don’t have as much information as the Untappd app has presumably gathered from the User’s checkins. And why tell her she should buy a product that got great ratings from users similar to her, if the brewer isn’t going to release the next batch till next summer? Ultimately, Users who need recommendations are staring at a dizzying array of unfamiliar beers at a store, or at a 3-page “Craft Beer” section of a menu at a bar or restaurant. There’s no point in training your recommender to know what type of IPA your User is apt to like, and then finding the perfect selection for her, if she has to fly 3000 miles to buy it. Unlike consumers of mega-beers that are available anywhere you go, the Untappd user is generally interested in finding great craft beers, produced on a much smaller, more locally distributed scale, and often for a limited time only. Why is location so important in this design scenario? Specific location is the single most important concern in recommending beers, unlike in recommending most other things. The only mention anywhere on about the workings of the recommender is under the “Privacy” topic, where they explain that they ask for the User’s location so that they can make better recommendations for her. But like most recommenders, this one has to be designed for a very specific scenario. With nearly a billion beer ratings in hand, it’s no surprise that Untappd has chosen to offer recommendations to its users. Untappd just notched its billionth check-in last month, to give you an idea of how popular it has been. The goldmine of data that app users provide comes in the form of “check-ins”, in which users announce/log where they are, which beer they’re drinking, and usually how they rate the beer, often including written reviews. Consumers use the app for free, and in return they provide data for the app and the breweries and vendors who pay Untappd for professional services, such as automated menu updates. Like, it serves manufacturers (breweries), vendors (bars/restaurants/stores), and consumers. is an app/website that plays an important role in the craft beer world.
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