Technology & Innovation — February 9, 2011

Community-Assisted Decisions

Asking thousands of strangers if those jeans look good on you might not have seemed possible only a few short years ago, but now it’s only an app download away.

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What began innocuously enough with restaurant reviews and recommendations through apps like Yelp has spread to virtually every possible aspect of human life and work. Asking thousands of strangers if those jeans look good on you might not have seemed possible (or desirable) only a few short years ago, but now it’s only an app download away, thanks to the advent of smartphones and mobile bandwidth. And style decisions are only the tip of the iceberg for community-assisted decision making, the newest trend appearing on a smartphone near you.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

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