Would you let a web site make decisions for you?

Getty ImagesI spend a lot of time thinking about improving the way I make decisions, so I was intrigued to learn that two new Web sites, Let Simon Decide and Hunch, offer free services to help on that front. At first, I thought the whole idea of going online to work on making decisions sounded hokey, but I have a weakness for tests that promise to help with self-awareness and these sites have a little of the same feeling.

If you like to make lists of pros and cons, you'll probably like Let Simon Decide, which feels like the more serious of the two. Simon (as the site likes to be called) is promoting itself as a tool to make career decisions, among other things, so I spent some time checking it out. To start, the site takes you through a series of questions to identify your decision-making style (e.g. When you buy a car, do you research different models, specs and costs, or buy it based on how it looks, or a little of both?). You also get a chance to identify your goals, your current life situation, your personality type, and your favorite activities. Once you've filled in all of this -- or at any time in the process -- you can jump over to the "make a decision now" red button and get started.

I've tried Let Simon Decide for two different decisions and each process took less than fifteen minutes. The first was work-related (Should I take on a new client?) and the other was personal (Should I talk to a family member about something bothering me?) In each case, the site got me to the same place I might have reached after a good talk with a smart friend who knew me (or by using 10-10-10). What I liked about it was that Simon reminded me of my goals, my values, and my personality (or at least what I identified as the personality type closest to mine) as I went through my decision-making process. The real work is in thinking through your personality type and your goals, something many people probably fail to do when making important decisions. It also helps if you write goals that relate in some way to the decisions you're asking about.

If you tend to make decisions after asking other people what they've done, you will likely get a kick out of Hunch, which asks you a series of seemingly random questions that help guide you to answering new questions you pose. But rather than simply generate answers based on what you've told it about yourself, Hunch goes out to its community of users to shape its responses. The site is much more interesting if you pose a question others have already asked since its model is to gather responses from its user base. Hunch feels more like the place I'd go to figure out which museums to visit on my next trip to Barcelona that whether to take on that new client. And if you're interested in seeing what the rest of Hunch users are saying, it is an appealing procrastination tool (and will likely make for an appealing iPhone application).

You may be wondering about why these sites exist and how they make money. Here's the scoop. Let Simon Decide is owned by a company, Ayax Systems, Inc. that is using the aggregated data from the site for its marketing and consulting services. The company says it has no plans to include advertising on the site or to reveal any personal information provided to it. Hunch offers sponsorships to companies so if you click on a question like, "Which jeans should I buy for my body type?" don't be surprised if you get a link to Banana Republic along with your suggested answer.

Give these sites a try and let me know what you think. It is ridiculous to use a web site to help us make decisions, or do you find them useful, fun, and a little addictive (as I did)?