Contacted Ensemble, the winning team of the Netflix prize.
My original message:
Dear Ensemble,

Fascinating experience, congratulations to the entire team. I’m
curious what happens to the algorithm(s) now though? I’m working on
loose pattern matching problem (semantic tags extracted from social
media) in an attempt to help focus real time internet conversations
topically, as well as provide advertisers with a chance at relevancy
to the individual.

Any chance your team is interested in reapplying the methodology to
other spaces?

Thanks for your time either way,
Mark Essel

Here’s what I heard back:
Hi Mark.

Thanks for contacting us! We are definitley interested in applying what we have learned to different problems.

I forwarded your email to other members of the team. Someone should respond in the next few days. If you haven’t heard anything in a few days, please contact me again and I’ll find out what is being done.

Thanks!

Greg McAlpin
member of The Ensemble