I logged in with my Twitter account for two reasons
1. I was just interested in OAthing and not having Hutch access my other information (as another learner pointed out!)
2. My Fb account actually does not have that much info about my likes/dislikes. I had a lot of info a few versions ago (before they switched to the "be a fan of the [insert TV show] Page" but I did not like the new paradigm.
Hutch was a hit n' miss for me. Some things were accurate (I think I answered 75 questions), like the TV shows that I would like and cuisines that I would enjoy, but other things were not (like European cities to visit). I would visit the cities that were listed, but they are not at the top of my (current) list :-)
As far as academic uses go, working in higher education, I think if we had a system like this in place, where students could connect to their Fb account (presuming that there is valuable data to be mined there), if the learner could start answering questions as they enter college and continually answer questions while they are students, faculty members could have a lot of data on their hands that can help shape the course that students are taking; using such data to come up with examples that are meaningful and relevant to the learner.
I also do not have a lot of relevant information in my FaceBook site, and found that Hunch most of the recommendations were very general at best.
I can see the value of a tool like this in that it can expose you to new items that you may not have been aware of otherwise. The big challenge for a tool like this will be to be able to passively mine the results it needs to build your profile for two reasons:
1) Users may not be willing to spend lots of time answering questions. I stopped at 20 just because I didn't have a lot of time to sit and answer questions.
2) Depending on the question, users may answer what they want to tell people they do, vs. what they actually do. I may want to read the books from the Governor General's list, but if I only read the latest pulp SF book, my answers would not be accurate.
I can see the value of a tool like this in that it can expose you to new items that you may not have been aware of otherwise. The big challenge for a tool like this will be to be able to passively mine the results it needs to build your profile for two reasons:
1) Users may not be willing to spend lots of time answering questions. I stopped at 20 just because I didn't have a lot of time to sit and answer questions.
2) Depending on the question, users may answer what they want to tell people they do, vs. what they actually do. I may want to read the books from the Governor General's list, but if I only read the latest pulp SF book, my answers would not be accurate.
I agree,
the benefit of a tool like this is to expose you to things that you might want to explore, rather than telling you what you already know.
the benefit of a tool like this is to expose you to things that you might want to explore, rather than telling you what you already know.
It definitely told me what I already know, but it and the discussion here started me thinking about whether something like this tool could be specifically targeted in a way that would be more helpful.
For instance, I could see a Hunch for LAK11 and other MOOCs to help me initially navigate the nonlocalized blogs, tweets, forum discussions, and so on in these experiences. Then it could learn about me by what I choose to respond to, which course readings I've accessed, which Elluminate sessions I've listened to (and whether live or recorded).
Also, I had no problem accessing Hunch without a Twitter or Facebook login; you don't have to provide that information.