Introduction to Learning to Rank - Doug Turnbull, Author Relevant Search & Relevance Consulting Lead OpenSource Connections

"Learning to rank uses machine learning to model search relevance. It’s promise is to take away more complex manual relevance tuning and let machines optimize for the ideal ranking using user behavior (clicks, etc). Does it live up to this promise? We developed an Elasticsearch learning to rank plugin in partnership with Snagajob and Wikipedia. We have assisted with several implementations and have learned a great deal from the trenches. In this talk & discussion, we introduce you to Learning to Rank, how to use Learning to Rank in Production, and talk about the challenges & hurdles bringing Learning to Rank to production in diverse set of real-life scenarios."

After the summer break we will pickup again from where we left and start the series with a great guest speaker from the East coast.  Doug is a former ElasticON speaker, author and recognized expert in search and relevance.  We will also be announcing the October meetup next week.  There is a limited amount of official Elastic swag to be distributed in a first-come-first-serve basis and...of course... food and drinks for all participants.  Official agenda coming soon.   Please RSVP if you are planning to attend.

A note about parking, by the hosts: "There is pay-parking available in our building at the 505 First Avenue S Garage. The entrance is on the west side of our building on Railroad Way S underneath the Alaskan Way viaduct. There are also several lots nearby on Jackson St, ample street parking, and if you're up for a walk, parking at the CenturyLink garage on Edgar Martinez blvd. Looking forward to seeing you all on Wednesday!"