Cold start (recommender systems)

A "Cold Start" is a problem for Recommender Systems (which are computer programs that help suggest things such as movies, music, or products that you may like). When a system is "Cold", it means it doesn't know anything about you, so it doesn't have any information to base recommendations on. Cold starts happen when a system has just been created or when a user (like you) is new to the system and the system doesn't have any data about you. To solve this problem, Recommender Systems have different techniques and algorithms like asking questions that give the system some hints, such as what your favorite color is or what kind of music you like. This way, the system can start to build a profile of what you like so it can start making more accurate recommendations.