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If you’ve been lucky enough to make it through your Netflix queue or to-read list, you might be wondering what you should do next. Luckily, with the Likewise app (Free), you can easily get high-quality recommendations for books, movies, TV shows, podcasts and more.
Welcome to ICYDK (In Case You Didn’t Know), a series where we offer tips and tricks that aren’t necessarily new but may have gone under the radar or otherwise not be well known.
Likewise, available on Android and iOS as well as online, makes it easy to get recommendations on anything from entertainment to restaurants and even cool places to visit, so you no longer have an excuse to sit around and say you’re bored. The app aims to provide suggestions that are high quality, rather than ones that are a total mismatch or downright horrible like you might get from a stranger online (think: Yelp reviews).
The app initially asks you what type of recommendations you’re looking for (say, movies), then shows you a list of movies, and you tap on the ones that you like. From there, Likewise’s algorithm provides super-precise recommendations according to your tastes, and the more items you rate, the better your recommendations get.
You can follow your friends on Likewise and take a cue from their suggestions on good gaming podcasts or the best black and white movies, or you can check out recommendations from celebrities like Bill Gates (whose private office founded, imagined, and funded the app, by the way) or lists from sources like Rotten Tomatoes or The Hollywood Reporter. You can also work on gaining followers of your own by being active on the app and making quality suggestions.
The app also allows you to ask other users for more specific recommendations (like a good show to binge-watch, a nerdy teen romance to read, or a good restaurant in a nearby city). There are also fun quizzes you can take to see how your interests and pop culture knowledge stacks up against the others. Any recommendation you like can be easily saved for reference later, and you can make recommendations of your own. If you’re really into TV dramas, for example, you can make your own list of the best dramas to watch on the CW or on Amazon Prime.
Overall, Likewise is a ton of fun to use and a fantastic way to find recommendations for all kinds of things. It also makes it easy to connect with other like-minded people who share the same tastes and interests. You’ll never be bored again!
