Tech giant Google is again playing its usual low-key act of unveiling or killing off apps unexpectedly and of recent it released Keen, an AI-powered app to rival Pinterest.
Google’s own Area 51 top-secret incubator developer project Area 120 is behind the Pinterest rival Keen. Area 120 is an internal incubator under Google which focuses on creating experimental apps and services of all kinds.
Keen, which is a would-be rival of Pinterest relies on Google’s machine learning expertise to curate topics from around the web and its currently only available on the web and Android. According to the apps co-founder CJ Adams, the app aims to be an alternative to “mindlessly” browsing online feeds.
If this isn’t one way of Google getting to find out more about what users are searching for and what they’re so keen about via the web then, we’re definitely mistaken about their pure intentions after all the app is called “Keen”. What are you so keen on? 😀
“On Keen […] you say what you want to spend more time on, and then curate content from the web and people you trust to help make that happen,” writes Adams in a blog post.
“You make a ‘keen,’ which can be about any topic, whether it’s baking delicious bread at home, getting into birding or researching typography. Keen lets you curate the content you love, share your collection with others and find new content based on what you have saved.”
Of course, this isn’t anything new we haven’t come across upon since almost every social platform these days is trying to personalise your feed based on your interests and interactions one or the other, and Pinterest has done this quite very well with its pins style.
Google wants to know more about your Keen interests with its latest app reveal
Google’s Keen is definitely trying to capture the same working formula as that of Pinterest but what sets it apart from its rival is that it has access to the tech giants massive expertise in machine learning.
Keen’s co-founder Adams believes that the app is at an advantage of utilising the machine learning aspect of Google to offer “helpful content related to your interests.”
“Even if you’re not an expert on a topic, you can start curating a keen and save a few interesting ‘gems’ or links that you find helpful,” says Adams. “These bits of content act like seeds and help keen discover more and more related content over time.”
The worrying question though is, what is Google going to do with all those data sets collected on the app over time. Plus, since it hasn’t had great success when it comes to the social platform area, the limitless possibilities that lay around that the entire project when it comes to collecting data and also advertising is yet to be seen.
Think about it for a second, we are not saying that Pinterest doesn’t have its own AI and ads targeting platforms already in place but with Google, it’s like tapping into a gold mine of user interests and much more. Also, when signing up for the service, one uses their Gmail account which also leads to a long and stretchy Google-wide user privacy policy whatnot.
None the less, its a great move by Google and we would love to see what the tech company and its incubator project can do with their new entry Keen app and how far they can push the machine learning systems in that area.
You can download the app via Google Play Store.
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Author: Allan Bangirana
Allan Bangirana has a taste for all kinds of topics and usually writes about tech, entertainment, sports and community projects that make a difference in society.
He writes for Newslibre and Spur Magazine. He is also the co-founder of the Innovware project and a freelance consultant passionate about technology and web.
