Do you remember what you read last summer?
Well, here are some things from Wired 18.08 to jog the memories... even if by now that is the summer before last. Just goes to show, digital is almost forever.
First just a quick note - on the major piece regarding infrastructure: Iphone use 15 times more data than other subs? Even other smart phones? ATT numbers: $37 + $13.5 bn used to build the infrastructure needed. Wonder how much more it is now in 2012. And how much they've made up for it in terms of overall revenues, which will keep on coming after the network is in place.
The, the main topic:
HUNCH - was mentioned as a major part in the profile of Caterina Fake (gotta love that last name for verified online profiles). I was planning on making some snaps from my profile, but it seems I've gone and gotten it all lost (or better, I had used Twitter initially, but probably revoked access at some time, so after reallowing I got in, but to a more Pintrest looking site. Guessing they've had time for a pivot or two in four years - even ended up as part of ebay I discovered in the Faq). So the old reflections will have to serve as a basis for now.
The main key here is social insights - the same thing that Facebook is betting the farm and then some on in terms of ads and like-mining the graph. And it is a difficult challenge to tackle, since most of the time we don't really know how or why we make our own choices.
My impressions of Hunch was that it was fun to build the basic profile, real nice use of gamification to get the answers flowing quickly. But a lot of them were very US centric in terms of topics, be it TV shows that never made it across the seas, or rituals like dances. So the overall feeling was a bit narrow in terms of recommendations, even after 182 questions answered. Heard the same about a year later from someone else.
Overall it seemed a pretty decent hit in terms of TV and magazines that I might want to look at.
Book? Not so much. Frankly hopeless compared to Amazon, and even they tend to get distracted and have a one track mind unless you go digging a bit across a set of tabs. Stuffing a large number of books onto four different wish lists has helped a bit with that.
The London TODO suggestions was abysmal - no Lonely Planet competitor to be sure. Not even on par with the free give away guidebooks from the local tourist office.
Perhaps the had some of the issues facing Wolphram Alfa going in - need a lot more raw data and basic information to populate the profiles. Either that or be bought by Facebook and assimilated - they might just have the raw data in terms of certain areas, and could quickly incentivize for more - ebay and paypal not so much, might help for discovering auctions and sellers you could connect to.
(man I miss the word count in WP... make progress so much more measurable and rewarding, even now when just dumping in the drafts to go)
