You probably didn't hear this piece of news, but an honest to goodness, actual decision engine launched today. Its called hunch, and its the brainchild of Caterina Fake, one of the minds behind Flickr.
Hunch doesn't appear to have $100M to blow on advertising, which is why you probably didn't notice that it launched today. There weren't ads on the Daily Show, or live telethons on Hulu to mark its coming. I read about it on Mashable, one of the best sources for information on the world of Internet startups and new internet sites.
Rather than simply infer what you are looking for based on a keyword search, Hunch takes the time to ask you questions. Yep, before you even start to use the service you answer 20 wide-ranging questions to allow Hunch the opportunity to "get to know you better." The questions hunch poses are sometimes silly, but all designed to develop a profile of each user that it can use to help point you in the right direction.
Once you have answered the questions Hunch asks, you have the option of creating a new account, and subseqent searches and questions you make on Hunch get added to your profile.
I tested Hunch with two questions --
Where should I take a vacation next and, what new television show should I watch? You see, I am in desperate need of a vacation and I'm caught up on Weeds.
I'll skip ahead to the television question because it is more interesting (by the way, Hunch says I need to head to Vermont, actually a place I think I'd rather enjoy). The video below shows you the basics of how Hunch poses you with questions which ultimately lead to a personalized recommendation.
I still don't know if we actually need a decision engine, but at least Hunch is legit in form and function. Bing simply is masquerading behing the illusion of helping you make a decision, but doesn't take the time to get to know my likes and dislikes. How can you claim to be a decision engine when you know very little about the person behind the screen?
Kudos to Hunch on a great first step. They won't supplant Google, but that doesn't appear to be their goal.
What has Hunch recommended for you? Sound off in the comments section!
William brings 10 years of interactive marketing experience to Off Madison Ave and serves as the agency’s Search Marketing Manager. In addition to his responsibilities managing pay-per-click and search engine optimization for clients, William also works with clients to develop innovative ways of using Facebook for marketing.
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1 comment so far
Jim Goodlett says:
Will, thanks for the post and the pointer...