Sentient Insight: the business blog for consumer psychology and consumer marketing

Phew. I’m not socially awkward. At least that is what Hunch.com, a popular new website designed to make decision making more simple and straightforward, reassured me. After choosing a decision topic entitled “Am I socially awkward?,” I was relieved when the decision outcome pleasantly replied, “You’re fine!” Now it is time to decide which brand of toilet paper I should buy… The fun and addicting Hunch.com was launched for the public earlier last week by the co-founder of the popular photo sharing website, Flickr.

A colleague once remarked to me that certain academically-oriented books are so accessible, so fun to read, and so compelling that they are like “scientific candy.” Jonah Lehrer’s How We Decide certainly has the pith and the readability of such candy, but it also has a surprising depth of insight and careful structuring that set it apart. He brings the science to the reader via understandable analogies and examples ranging from Tom Brady’s strengths as a quarterback to the Gulf War. Unlike other types of candy, Lehrer’s blend never is too simplistic, too one-dimensional, or too focused to be unable to step back and look at the big picture.

“Gentlemen, the final rose tonight,” Chris Harrison, the host of The Bachelorette, dramatically intones. It is the dreaded moment for any contestant on the hit television show but especially for the current Bachelorette, Jillian Harris. At the end of each episode, Jillian must eliminate another suitor in her quest for “true love” and the perfect husband. She tearfully cries, “This is the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make.” But she said that last episode. And the one before that. And on the first episode.

Martin Lindstrom is “one of the world’s most respected marketing gurus;” the jacket of his 2008 release Buyology tells any curious reader in no uncertain terms. This brief fragment of description, if given some vitamins and a tall glass of milk to grow, could easily be ascribed to the work as a whole. With this said, though, Buyology is undeniably a very compelling book.

One of the coolest aspects of owning an iPhone is the availability of applications – both free and paid – through iTunes. There is a wide range of prices for paid iPhone applications, from $0.99 for the Moron Test to $899.99 for iRA Pro, an application allowing users to view and control video surveillance equipment. And, of course, there are thousands of free applications available to iPhone users. So what’s the price point where iPhone users say, “Nah, that’s not worth it?”

What do you think? Inspiring? Believable? Long overdue or timely? As a former contractor for GM, I have good friends and colleagues at all levels of the company, and I want them to do well. I was happy to see the ad, which  conveys a realistic sense of how GM needs to be thinking and what they need to do next. Regardless of how long it took them (and yes, I think it took too long; they’ll have a hard time claiming ‘progressive’ as a brand value ever again) – these efforts portray a company that is deeply ingrained in America’s psyche and one that is a vital part of America’s brand.  What do you think of the effort?