Hunch API

File this under, “I’m not quite sure why this is interesting but I know it is.”

A few days ago Hunch, Caterina Fake’s new startup that tries to help you make better decisions by showing you data from others trying to decide the same thing, launched an “academic version” of their API. As you can see in their example, this version allows you to search their database of more than 4 million answered questions and not only see the answer, but also see the answers that most highly correlate with the answer you chose. (Users who prefer laptops are most closely correlated with users used a Polaroid camera and users who would cook burgers on the grill are most closely correlated with users that think casual Fridays are awesome.)

Not sure what to do or think about it, but seems kind of awesome. Also kind of reminds me of some of what I’ve been doing with Brand Tags (and Battle Mode). The idea of making research fun and using the data it spits out to better understand how the world works makes me happy.

Oh, and if you want a Hunch invite, I have a few. Just leave a comment. First left, first served. Unfortunately have none left, you can still leave a comment if you’d like and I’ll hook it up when/if my invites get replenished. I’m also pretty sure you can just leave your email on their homepage and you’ll get one soon.

April 24, 2009