update: so far aardvark has been frustrating. the main problem i've found has been lazy answers. for example, when i asked, "anyone have word of mouth recommendations for holiday accommodation in Byron Bay NSW?" i received back two answers that quoted a website URL for hotel reviews. the same URL. so i understand that i can add detail to my question like, "please note, i'm asking for a personal recommendation from someone who has actually stayed somewhere that they enjoyed," and, "please note, i know how to use teh google and have already searched review sites." but that gets kinda tiring.
anyhow, now i'll try out hunch for a few days and see if it's any better. so far i've mostly only played with hunch's THAY (teach hunch about you) profiler. but one question i asked was "what car should i buy" and out of the 4 results, 2 were cars that i had definitely considered, 1 was a car that i hadn't considered but now i will, and 1 was a car i don't like. so that's pretty good.
anyhow, now i'll try out hunch for a few days and see if it's any better. so far i've mostly only played with hunch's THAY (teach hunch about you) profiler. but one question i asked was "what car should i buy" and out of the 4 results, 2 were cars that i had definitely considered, 1 was a car that i hadn't considered but now i will, and 1 was a car i don't like. so that's pretty good.
but hunch is all about profiling you and then predicting your tastes. i wonder how it will cope with one of The Human Problems: we change our minds, our preferences progress, we are fickle critters.
when was the last time you saw a website/webservice that:
(aside: i enjoyed bruce sterling's what comes after post.)
- learns & improves
- consumes & remixes data from multiple sources
- offers services & data for remixes by anyone
- allows users to provide their own services & data so others can remix that too
- allows users to own and control their services & data
- has transparency
- is useful
- speaks on a personal level to its users
- trusts its users
(aside: i enjoyed bruce sterling's what comes after post.)
i like how you can say on aardvark, "let me know when someone tells the answer to that person's question, cuz i wanna know the answer too" by writing LMK.
LMK, people.
LMK, people.
after SXSW in 2007, i gave a talk at work, summing it up. i highlighted twitter. "it's startin' somethin'." i wonder if i went to SXSW this year, if i'd be coming back talking about aardvark. and i wonder if it will take aardvark two years to break mainstream, like twitter. and i wonder what the "startin' somethin'" will be at next year's SXSW. wonder wonder wonder. i aim to be there.
anyway, two potentially interesting events coming up. ignite and trampoline. will be sure to report if they are anywhere between champagne comedy and solid gold.
anyway, two potentially interesting events coming up. ignite and trampoline. will be sure to report if they are anywhere between champagne comedy and solid gold.