How to Keep Track of All Your Favorite Recommendations Without Losing Your Mind
Part 2 of "Beyond the Algorithm: Rediscovering Authentic Recommendations"
Just a few places people currently save recommendations
In Part 1 of the Beyond the Algorithm series, I reminisced about StumbleUpon and how it made the internet feel vast and full of possibility. We've gained unlimited access to information since those days, but somehow lost the magic of true discovery.
Nowhere is this paradox more evident than in how we handle recommendations. Your friend raves about an amazing moisturizer, but weeks later when you're finally ready to buy it, you can't remember what it was called. Was it in a text message? An Instagram DM? Did they mention it over coffee?
If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. We're living in the golden age of recommendations, but the way we save and organize them is stuck in the digital dark ages.
When Unlimited Options Become Overwhelming
The internet promised us access to everything—every product, every review, every possibility. But this endless ocean of options has created a new problem: when everything is available, how do you find what's truly right for you?
This is where recommendations from trusted sources become invaluable. Unlike algorithms that show you more of what you've already seen or what's being promoted, recommendations from your network cut through the noise with relevance and context.
Yet ironically, as these precious recommendations pile up across various platforms, they become part of the very digital clutter we're trying to escape.
“78% of consumers feel overwhelmed by too many product choices, and 76% say online shopping lacks excitement, with nearly a third viewing it as a chore”
The Current Chaos of Saving Your Favorite Finds
Think about all the places recommendations currently live in your digital life:
Screenshots filling up your photo library
Text messages with recommendations spread across multiple conversations
Instagram saves mixed with other content
Notes app lists that never get properly categorized
Browser bookmarks of recommended items you rarely revisit
Emails you sent yourself with links to recommended products
You don’t want to forget that restaurant review in the local paper, or the amazing necklace you saw in that magazine the other day, but you don’t have the time right now to do your usual research and cross-checking so you save it somewhere telling yourself “I’ll come back to it when I have more time.” Then, of course, when the time comes you have no idea where you saved it.
Why Our Current Organization Methods Fail Us
Let's look at why the most common ways to save recommendations from friends ultimately break down:
The Screenshots Black Hole
Taking screenshots of recommended products is quick and easy, but they get buried among hundreds of other images, lack context, and aren't searchable by content. How many times have you scrolled endlessly trying to find that screenshot of a restaurant recommendation?
App Chaos
You connect with your friends across many different platforms from Instagram and Facebook, to Pinterest and Snapchat, but each platform has a different way of saving content and quickly identifying recommendations among birthday wishes and photos of family vacation is anything but easy. Finding that hair stylist recommendation months later becomes nearly impossible.
The Bookmark Graveyard
Research shows that the majority of saved bookmarks are never revisited, largely because they lack context and aren't easily accessible across devices. Those carefully bookmarked restaurant recommendations often die a quiet death in your browser.
The Real Cost of Our Current Fragmented Experiences
The problem of with sponsored search results, fake reviews, and multiple methods for attempting to organize the chaos goes beyond mere inconvenience, especially for busy parents juggling work and family life.
Time Wasted
Only 24% of consumers describe their product search and discovery experience as quick, leaving 76% dissatisfied and frustrated. Over two-thirds of all consumers check at least 3 different review sites due to increased skepticism regarding fake reviews and paid influencer content. That time adds up.
Mental Burden of Lost Recommendations
According to a Gartner survey, 38% of employees report receiving an "excessive" volume of communications. For working parents, this digital clutter compounds the mental load they already carry—tracking family appointments, school events, and recommended products they want to try.
Decision Fatigue from Option Overload
Research on shows that the average adult makes approximately 35,000 decisions a day which contribute to mental exhaustion and decision fatigue. That’s why we often rely on our trusted networks to give us valuable recs for everything from dresses to dishwashers. It’s one less decision we have to make.
The Power of Trusted Recommendations in an AI-Driven World
When someone in your network recommends something, it comes with built-in context. They know your preferences, your budget constraints, and your specific situation in a way no algorithm or anonymous reviewer ever could.
Studies show that 88% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know above all other forms of marketing messaging. There's a reason we still text our friends asking "where did you get that?" even with endless review sites at our fingertips.
“In a world where 82% of consumers have read a fake review in the last year, recommendations from people you actually know have never been more valuable.”
Sometimes you're seeking recommendations; other times, you're the trusted source. Being able to easily retrieve and share recommendations strengthens your connections on both sides.
When asking for recommendations: You get personalized suggestions from people who understand your specific needs, saving you hours of research and the uncertainty of anonymous reviews.
When giving product recommendations: You build social capital and deepen relationships by providing valuable guidance that actually gets used, not forgotten in someone's digital clutter.
The Future of Product Discovery
At hili, we're reimagining how recommendations should work in the digital age. We believe the perfect recommendation system would:
Automatically save recommendations from text messages
Maintain the context of who recommended what
Make searching for specific recommendations from friends intuitive
Organize recommendations by category without creating extra work for you
We're building a platform where recommendations aren't just data points—they're meaningful connections between people and the products, places, and services they love.
Reclaim the Joy of Discovery
While the StumbleUpon era may be behind us, the joy of discovering things that perfectly match your needs doesn't have to be. By better organizing the trusted recommendations already flowing through your network, you can cut through the endless options and find what truly resonates with you.
Join our waitlist to be among the first to experience a better way to save, organize, and share the things you love.