Ask the web - hot or not

There is a web site on the internet that says more about the laws of attraction than a degree in psychology ever can. Called "Hot or Not?" it is based on a devastatingly simple concept. Visitors to the site are invited to post a picture of themselves, which is then rated (out of 10) by other visitors. Next to each submitted picture is the average rating so far, showing with stunning predictability that we are not born equal when it comes to looks and that the more you reveal the greater the admiration you receive. This somewhat tongue-in-cheek site is just another example of how the internet has created powerful new ways of aggregating information for a few pennies and is causing managers to rethink age-old practices of market research and group decision-making. Ken Young from IT Week asks: Why spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on traditional market research when it is increasingly possible to do the corporate equivalent of "Am I Hot or Not?" by scouring internet chatter?
In June the Financial Times reported that several leading pharmaceutical groups are considering such services to find out what weblog authors are saying about their products. The services can also scan newsgroups and forums to look for exchanges of information between patients.
A new book, The Wisdom of Crowds, by James Surowieki (and hotly tipped by Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point) focuses on just this point: that large groups can often make better decisions than individuals and small groups.