Need to be the first one in the office to know about that mega merger? Will knowing new details about that certain IPO pricing change your game plan for your 8am meeting? With the Spotter news app be “10x more informed” and be the first one in the office in-the-know without doing the heavy lifting.
My quick take:
Getting access to breaking news is always tricky and time consuming – a gazillion apps, a million sites. I find myself on my mobile Twitter app or Flipboard, on WSJ.com at my desk and watching TV news in between. Still, even for a news-watcher like me, you can miss stuff. With Spotter, it sorts through hundred of sites every day and delivers you only the news you need, in no time. This is all about getting it first and fast and not having to go through Twitter. Teach Spotter what you like, what type of news you need and it does the rest.
What it is:
Developed by an ex-Googler who thought of the idea after a manager asked him to report back with competitor and industry news to his team, Spotter aggregates news, much like Newsle or Flipboard, but instead of letting social popularity or generic categories dictate what news you get, you tell the app what kind of news you need about companies, specific people or industries and get exactly what you need, even when it doesn’t come from the New York Times. It is kind of like a bunch of Google alerts inside a news app. Avoid getting a generic stream of a thousand “technology” stories just cause you indicated you liked tech. It can do better than your Twitter feed because Spotter searches authors and sites you may not have in that feed.
The app supports over 50 categories. Spotter says users will be “’10x more informed’ as a result of using the app and makes it clear that it’s aimed at professional people who benefit from staying closely in touch with their industry and competitors.”
Fine print:
So far, this newly launched app is only available on iOS and will expand “soon.” By far the biggest complaint by users is that there is only one way to sign in: via Facebook login. If you’re not down with that, then give this a pass.
Get it now: Spotter app for iOS
