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Methodology

How we measure taste. v2.0 — March 2026

What Is Taste?

Taste is the invisible hand behind every choice you make in public. It's not about what you like — it's about how you like it, why you like it, and whether those choices form a coherent identity.

Taste has been the last unquantified human quality. We measure IQ, EQ, credit scores, follower counts, engagement rates — but nobody has tried to systematically evaluate the quality of someone's digital presence. Until now.

The 4 Levels of Taste

Taste operates on a hierarchy. Each level builds on the one below it. Our 6 dimensions are organized by which level of taste they primarily measure.

Level 1
Preference

“I like this.” Raw personal response. Everyone has it. Not scored — it's the soil taste grows in.

Level 2
Discrimination

“This is good, that isn't.” You can tell quality from garbage. You have an eye. Measured by Curation and Intentionality.

Level 3
Vision

“This doesn't exist yet, but it should.” Taste becomes generative, not just selective. Measured by Originality and Conviction.

Level 4
Identity

“I couldn't have made this any other way.” Work and person are inseparable. Measured by Identity and Self-Awareness.

The Six Dimensions

Curation

12.5%Level 2: Selector

Can you recognize quality outside yourself? What do your selections — shares, references, influences — reveal about your eye?

90–100:Extraordinary eye. Cross-domain, surprising, purposeful selections. Whether through sharing or references in their work, you discover things through them.
0–29:Zero curation signal. No visible selection taste. Indistinguishable from any other account in their niche.

Intentionality

12.5%Level 2: Selector

Are your choices deliberate? Whether minimalist or maximalist — is there a mind behind the moves?

90–100:Every move feels deliberate. Whether loud or quiet, you can feel the choosing mind. Nothing is accidental.
0–29:Pure autopilot. No evidence of deliberate choice. Content happens TO them rather than being chosen BY them.

Originality

17.5%Level 3: Creator

Do they add something to the world that wasn't there before?

90–100:Genuinely creates new ideas, formats, or perspectives that others adopt. Unmistakable voice. Builds real things.
0–29:Copy-paste culture. Could be anyone. Zero original creation. Pure redistribution.

Conviction

17.5%Level 3: Creator

Do they trust their own perception before consensus validates it?

90–100:Genuinely convicted. Champions things early, holds positions with grace. Their conviction has been tested.
0–29:Zero edge. Pure consensus. No detectable conviction on anything. Performative agreement with everything.

Identity

20%Level 4: Identity

Can you feel a specific, unmistakable person behind the work?

90–100:Unmistakable. You'd recognize their work without a name. Identity feels lived-in, not performed.
0–29:No identity signal. Could be a bot. Completely generic. No detectable person behind the output.

Self-Awareness

20%Level 4: Identity

Do they understand their own taste — what it is, where it comes from, and what its blind spots are?

90–100:Perfectly calibrated. Self-image matches reality. Knows strengths, acknowledges weaknesses.
0–29:Complete disconnect. Performance bears no relationship to reality. No evidence of introspection.

Composite Score

The composite Taste Score is a level-weighted average. Identity and Self-Awareness weigh heaviest (20% each) because they represent the deepest expression of taste — taste as self. Level 3 dimensions (Originality, Conviction) carry 17.5% each, while Level 2 dimensions (Curation, Intentionality) carry 12.5% each.

ScoreTier
90.00–100.00Legendary
80.00–89.99Exceptional
70.00–79.99Tasteful
60.00–69.99Developing
50.00–59.99Mid
40.00–49.99Basic
30.00–39.99Struggling
0.00–29.99Tasteless

Data Collection

We collect data from up to four sources per evaluation:

  • 01 Twitter/X — Up to 200 recent tweets, profile bio, engagement patterns, retweets vs originals
  • 02 LinkedIn — Up to 30 posts, headline, experience
  • 03 Website — Content, copy quality, what you choose to show
  • 04 Web Research — Google search for articles, interviews, mentions

All data is publicly available. We only analyze what you've chosen to put into the world. Screenshots are captured as evidence.

The AI Judge

We use Claude (Anthropic) as the primary judge. Same input data will produce similar but not identical scores on re-evaluation (±5 points). This reflects the inherent subjectivity of taste — even human judges would show similar variance.

Every claim in the report must be verifiable from the scraped data. Retweets are clearly distinguished from original content. Job titles and roles are taken verbatim from profiles, never interpreted or invented.

Limitations

We're honest about what this is and isn't:

  • • Single-point-in-time evaluation — taste evolves
  • • English-language bias in text-based scoring
  • • Western-centric aesthetic norms in some dimensions
  • • AI judge is consistent but not objective
  • • Text-heavy analysis — limited visual scoring currently

We don't claim to be objective — taste is inherently subjective. But we claim to be consistent, insightful, and useful.