Browsing tool Lumi has launched, using associate cookies to provide users with more targeted search results.
A creation of music recommendation site Last.fm’s co-founders, Lumi employs a user’s browsing history to guide searches to content under categories such as news, arts, sports and entertainment.
Before its release yesterday (Thursday) Lumi.do was originally available through Chrome and Firefox as a browser plugin.
Instead of collecting user data, suggestions are provided according to the local browsing history, with a sidebar menu providing refined topic-focused options.
Martin Stiksel, co-founder of Lumi, said: “I’ve been browsing the web for 15 years and I’ve got nothing to show for it,” the Guardian reported.
Using a decade’s experience in web-based recommendation, Lumi has applied its knowledge to launch another internet business.
“It’s that same Last.fm principle of using data that people have lying around, in this case to help them discover new things. They understand that their data is valuable and normally it is used in a commercial environment being used by advertisers, but they don’t know what else can be done with it,” Stiksel said.
Adapting the browser facility for mobiles and consequently developing a smart TV app are part of the Lumi future, co-founder Felix Miller revealed.
“There’s a need for a more tangible stream of content on screen and better way to navigate all that,” he said.
He explained the need for content delivery at home without effort-required searching, describing it as a “lean-back experience”.
As for Last.fm, the pair believe Spotify is taking over.
However, Miller believes Last.fm has taught Spotify the necessity of recommendation.
“It’s the commonsense approach,” he said.
