By Steve Lohr

Back in October of 2006, when Netflix announced its million-dollar prize contest, the competition seemed to be a neat idea, but not necessarily a big one. The movie rental company declared it would pay $1 million to the contestant who could improve its web site’s movie recommendation system by 10% or more. The contest presented an intriguing problem—and a lucrative one for the winner. For Netflix, it was a shrewd ploy that promised to pay off in improved service and publicity.

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