I was lucky enough to get an invitation to the closed beta of hunch.com, the newest brainchild of Caterina Fake (one of the original Flickr founders).
Hunch is, without a doubt, one of the more interesting sites I’ve tried recently. In simple terms, it is a decision-making assistant. But it’s really so much more than that. So much, in fact, that I’m writing about it so I don’t lose the ideas that just popped into my head as I was using it.
It works like this: After registration, the user answers lots and lots of questions. Lots. I think my profile says I answered 867 questions in total. They’re easy questions for the most part, intended to train the site as to your specific likes, dislikes, outlooks, problem-solving and social patterns, etc. Each question has an option to skip it entirely, so the user is always in control of what information is given and what is not.
This is important, because it is step one to building trust between user and service. After all, if I answer a question about a moral decision, I’m giving that information to a database, and maybe I want to do that and maybe I don’t, depending on where my privacy limits begin and end. However, the more transparent one is with the questions, the better the possibilities for accuracy as one uses the site.
After teaching the site about who I am, I was left to roam freely around. I could explore the community, send the three invitations I was given, or ask a question and see if I could get an answer. I decided to try a question first. The question I asked was this: What poetry should I read? (Since it’s National Poetry Month and all) I was asked 4 questions, and then given four results.
The results were eerily accurate. Of the four given, I’d read three. But the top result was eerily right – a poet I had just seen today on poets.org and added to my Amazon wish list.
When I started thinking about the possibilities around this, my mind got a little boggled, so I tried another question, somewhat obvious: What car should I buy?
This one was a little trickier, despite its deceptive simplicity. Part of that is because I want it all: fuel economy, storage, comfort, cool stuff like Sticks’ XB has – built in bluetooth, iPod/iPhone link to stereo, steering wheel controls, etc.
The first results weren’t impressive, but I realized that one of the questions I’d answered was wrong — I should have skipped it rather than answered, because fuel economy AND performance are equally important to me. When I went back and answered the questions with that one skipped, it came up with a recommendation that is at the top of my list: The Honda Fit. The second and third fit the answers, but I don’t like the look and am not particularly interested in the brand: Volkswagen Jetta and Golf. The wild card pick was the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, also not a brand I’m interested in.
Each result has a Like/Dislike option, as well as a box for the user to enter pros and/or cons relating to the recommendation. Each time a pro, con, like, or dislike is entered, the user offers a bit more information about themselves, but also about that product, service, or person.
There is also a social network built into the site with a real time activity stream. Right now it has all users on the stream, or one can opt for only seeing the stream of their friends.
Imagine the possibilities here. Not only in the marketing areas, but in areas of emerging interests, concerns, and needs. What they have built is a site around microcommunities and affinity groups, organically grown.
This is an engine driven by trust. And gestures. The possibilities are amazing. In 2006, Steve Gillmor wrote a post about the value of trust with regard to products and services, and this site is one that harnesses the power of trust in amazing ways with mind-bending possibilities. Because users act independently of one another, the trends and swarms that emerge are unlikely to be gamed (think Digg.com as a prime example of gaming), and communities are more likely to form around affinities and interests first.
Keep an eye out for the site to open up. If they give me more invitations, I’ll post about it here and hand them out to commenters. The three I had are gone. The more I think about the possibilities with this place, the more interesting it becomes.
