The “My Rating” feature on iTunes has always felt a little clumsy. First of all, I hardly ever listen to music on iTunes itself- I listen to most of my music on my iPod. Secondly, I don’t want to have to *do* anything convoluted or extra in order to register that I like or dislike a song. I am surprised that Apple, given its user interface prowess, hasn’t managed to take better advantage of natural user behavior in order to more effectively drive the ratings system. In short:
- If I play a song multiple times in a row, it probably means I like it. Increment the rating.
- When I repeatedly turn up the volume on a song- it probably means I like it. Increment the rating.
- When I repeatedly skip a song, I probably don’t like it. Decrement the rating.
I have taken to quoting Bradely Horowitz’s observation that “the act of consumption is itself an act of creation”. The iTunes/iPod UI team should be well positioned to exploit this phenomena.