I worked on the Netflix Challenge last year but did not come far and gave up after submitting a few mediocre results. Actually, I was proud of myself for my result did not explode but was within the range of the Cinematch's algorithm. The experience has given me a lot of respect for companies that are developing recommendation algorithms.

There should be more great competition like this. At this point, I'd say the benefits coming from all the research and development by the Netflix Challenge community as well as the experience obtained by many hobbyists like myself as the result of this competition has already exceeded the $1 million winning prize.