Exploring Recommender Systems With Apache Spark



• Learn about the process of building recommender systems.



• Step-by-Step walk-through of Spark's ALS functions.



• Brief intro to Pyspark and doing interactive analysis.



Creating personalized recommendations is within the grasp of any organization willing to dip their toes into Apache Spark. A 2006 article from VentureBeat cites Amazon made 35% of its sales due to its product recommendations. A 2012 Forbes article references a 29% increase in YoY sales due to Amazon's greater emphasis on product recommendations. Clearly a powerful tool in any company's arsenal.



Apache Spark's MLLib makes it embarrassingly easy to generate product recommendations. During this talk, you will learn how to work with the Alternating Least Squares (ALS) function as well as the softer-skills of building recommender systems, including: Determining purpose of a RecSys, Understanding your data via Spark functions, Processing your data to enter into the ALS function, and Evaluating your RecSys.



This will be a very applied hour but should be accessible to anyone familiar with programming in python.



Bio



Will Johnson is a Database Manager at Pleasant Prairie, WI based Uline. He received his Masters in Predictive Analytics from DePaul University where he studied computational data mining methods in R, Python, and Spark. Will works on solving business problems with pragmatic analysis and the occasional random forest and recommendation engine.



Location



Ward4 is in the second floor of the Pritzlaff Building overlooking the intersection of St Paul Ave and N Plankinton Ave. To get in, walk up the cobblestone ramp off of St. Paul ave and follow the signs to Ward4. Once you're in the courtyard, enter under the Ptitzlaff sign (streetview link: https://goo.gl/maps/BTGC23hDr4B2 ). Take the elevator on the right up to the second floor, then head out the double doors and turn right.



Parking



Free street parking is available on both sides of N Plankinton between the BP station and the railroad tracks, and on W Buffalo St. Metered parking is available on 2nd, along W St Paul outside the post office, and along Clybourn. All metered parking is free after 6.