Amazon has made a big business in part because of its recommendations. Customers who bought this also bought that has proven tremendously helpful for book readers, as well as consumers searching out cameras, pet toys and other products on the world's biggest shopping site. Netflix, similarly, has grown its business because of suggested movies and shows.

Social video viewership jumped 40% in the first quarter of 2012 over last year, driven in large part by the popularity of the "Kony 2012" video and also by Super Bowl ads online. Videos created by brands generated 1.3 billion views for the quarter, which is also a more than three times gain over the first quarter of 2010, said Visible Measures in its latest social video quarterly report.