Can I post anonymously on Ahoona or do I have to reveal my name with every post?
You can post anonymously if you want, or you can use your real name. It is up to you. We give you this option with every decision post you make. We are aware that you might need to get help from other users or the world and you might not want to reveal your identity. We also give you the chance to post only to friends who know you well and would give recommendations personalized to you. We have observed that posts with user names receive more responses than posts without user names.
Can I share my posts with my Facebook friends?
Yes. Ahoona is fully integrated with Facebook and there are many ways to do this.
(i) If you login with Facebook, we give the option to post on Facebook with every post you make. Make sure the “Post to Facebook” box is checked.
(ii) Alternatively, if you have already posted on Ahoona, and you later decide to share the post with your friends on Facebook, you can find your post in the “Me” tab and then click the “share” on Facebook button. Your post will automatically show up on your friends’ newsfeed and your own in Facebook. It will also show up on your wall.
Do I need to wait to get feedback from my friends or the world before making a decision?
No, you can post and make a decision right away. We can help you in many ways even if you have not received any input from your friends or from the world. Here is how
(i) We have a powerful decision-focused web-crawler that searches the internet and finds relevant information to help you with your decision.
(ii) We have a database of historic decisions to help you. Whenever you are ready to make a decision, just click “Make a Decision” or “Analyze Recommendations”, we provide historic recommendations for you to think about.
(iii) Sponsored recommendations are alternatives provided by sponsored businesses that could help you with your recommendation. For example, there may be discounts or coupons that you can find. The sponsored recommendations do not affect the decision making methodology. We recommend a final decision based on the inputs you provide.
How do I make a decision using Ahoona?
Very simple! Two simple steps to making a good decision on Ahoona
Step 1: Post a decision you are making to yourself or to your friends or to the world. You can post using your name or anonymously.
Step 2: When you are ready to make a decision, click Make Decision. Ahoona will guide you through a process to help you make the best decision for you. The process will capture any inputs you received from friends or from the world, and will give you access to historic recommendations in our database and will guide you through a decision engine.
If I post only to myself, can Ahoona still help me make a decision?
Yes. You will make use of the decision-focused web crawler; the historic recommendations, the sponsored recommendations, and Ahoona’s powerful decision making engine which will guide you through the process.
What is the difference between a decision, a poll, a thought, and a debate?
A decision is an action you take after some thought. A good decision requires thinking about your alternatives (what you can do), your information (what you know and what you are uncertain about), your preferences and objectives, the pros and cons of each alternative, and the bigger picture. All these inputs can be obtained with help from your user network or using Ahoona’s web-crawler, or by accessing historic recommendations, or by viewing the sponsored recommendations tab. Ahoona allows you to post a decision to friends or to yourself or to the world using your real name or anonymously.
A poll is a survey of some peoples’ opinion and preferences. Ahoona lets you survey opinions of your friends or the world. When you post a poll, you can provide a set of possible answers and ask your friends to choose their preferred answer, or you can allow them to add their own answer. For example, you can poll “Who is your favorite character on the Big Bang Theory?” or “What is your favorite ice cream flavor?” or “Who is your favorite political candidate?” Polls help you better understand the preferences of different people and can be used to help you make a good decision.
You can also use a poll to help you forecast. For example, you might ask “What are the chances of rain tomorrow?” or “Which football team will win?” or “Will interest rates go up or down next week?” or “What are the chances that a candidate will win the election?” Forecasts help you better understand the information aspect of the decision.
A thought is just a comment you would like to share with your friends and get their response on. You do not necessarily need to be making a decision to post a thought or a poll.
A debate is a conversation between two (or more) people about a topic upon which they disagree. The debate creates a framework for people to express their views and Ahoona lets you get feedback from friends or the world on the different points of view.
When should I use Pros/Cons vs. Weight and Rate vs. Decision trees when making a decision?
Pros/Cons analysis helps you filter out bad alternatives quickly. It also helps you think qualitatively about the many aspects involved in making the decision. It is a good tool when there is no uncertainty about the outcomes.
Weight and Rate analysis helps you think about your preferences, objectives and goals. It scores each alternative based on its potential for meeting each goal. It is a good tool when there is no uncertainty about the outcomes.
Decision Tree analysis helps you make a decision when there is uncertainty about what you will get. If the outcomes can be represented with money, Ahoona assesses your risk attitude. If the outcomes cannot be represented monetarily, Ahoona assesses indifference values to help you make the best decision for you.