

Hunch Hasn't a Clue About My Intentions - cyunker
http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=556&doc_id=189349

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bhattisatish
To me hunch is not a recommendation system. To me it seems to be more of a
data collector. I have a strong feeling they are just collecting the data
generated by us and re-selling it, but pretending at the same time to
'recommend' something. A con job is all I can think.

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angelbob
On the one hand, he has a good point buried in there: Hunch doesn't collect
enough useful information, and it doesn't do a great job with it. Fair enough.

However, his basic hostility to the idea of recommendations coming from a
machine seems misplaced. Presumably he's not out there railing against Amazon
and NetFlix recommending books and movies to all of us... And they actually do
a pretty good job.

Overall, a very poorly written article. Yes, yes, you'd like several semi-
elite celebrities of Silicon Valley to do a better job with $12 million. And
I'd like a pony.

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rdl
Fundamentally bayesian antispam, netflix, and amazon all win because they
generate recommendations as a side effect of user actions (ideally "what they
buy/watch", but even just marking things with stars or tags). Hunch is a
failure because it tries to get users to explicitly generate recommendations.

Humans are unreliable self-reporters.

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pclark
it's amusing how he calls Hunch the "la crème de la creme of Silicon Valley"
despite them being in New York. Heh :)

