One of the most interesting aspects of wearing FiveFingers is the response you get from individuals around town that see you wearing them. Even friends and family may act shocked or surprised at your style of foot ware when they see your ten toes. But imagine their reaction if FiveFingers came as a recommendation from the collective intelligence of people that shop and buy like them. That all might be possible with a future app being developed by Cobrain.

The Cobrain Company

A new startup is promising to use the collective intelligence of others to change the world. They mention working with some of the top brands in the US to bring apps and software to the market that will leverage big data and machine learning to help make better consumer decisions.

The company is founded by Rob McGovern who previously had success as the founder of Careerbuilder.com. He’s brought with him mobile and IT talent to establish Cobrain that is currently in “Stealth” mode. The site is accepting registrations for individuals that are interested in finding out about what Cobrain has to offer as they get ready to come out of stealth mode and into private beta.

If you have big data, machine learning, and mobile apps, you may be interested in checking out Cobrain’s Career page.

Social Impact

I know that I’ve helped a number of my friends and family embrace FiveFingers. But other still have their doubts about this style of minimalist shoes. I do think that the future of Vibram FiveFingers will depend on social support and acceptance of the style and there is nothing like solid data and collective intelligence apps that can help push that forward.

What do you think? If you had an app that made recommendations to try out new shoes like FiveFingers would it help you make the decision to pick up a pair? Do you think an app like the one promised by Cobrain can change the world?