Whenever former Google employees decide to leave the company and hang out their own shingle, the tech world takes notice. The latest team of "Xooglers" to branch out has launched a recommendation app called Stamped.
As reported by TechCrunch, the app essentially functions as a social network for recommendations. Users can "stamp" anything for approval (restaurants, books, music, movies, etc.) and others users can share and comment on the stamp.
One of the primary differences between Stamped and similar recommendation apps like Kevin Rose's Oink and the commerce-oriented Wikets is that Stamped only wants your favorite recommendations; low and average ratings aren't supported. So instead of attempting to amass a huge catalogue of ratings from the crowd, Stamped is designed to shrink your decision process by focusing only on the opinions of close friends whose opinions you trust.
One other unique feature is that users only get 100 points, or stamps. This point system is meant to limit the amount of stamp recommendations (and thus increase quality) and add a bit of gamification to the mix. This twist sounds good, but getting consumers to buy into an even marginally complex point system is always a challenge.
Aside from user information, the app also uses data culled from sites such as Amazon, OpenTable, Fandango, and Google Places. Adding to the New York-based app's pedigree is the involvement of famed chef Mario Batali as a company advisor. The app is currently only available for free on the iPhone, but Android and iPad versions are also scheduled for release soon, according to GigaOm.
Critics will point out that this kind of sudden appearance of the same kind of app crafted by many different hands is part of the danger of inventing products in the bubble community of Silicon Valley. In fact, the function of these apps was recently predicted in a hilarious mock app launch video by Nosh creator Alex Cornell. Others will simply chalk up this rash of review apps to consumer demand. You can decide for yourself who's right by viewing the Stamped product tour in the video below, and you can download the Stamped app on the company's Web site and via iTunes.
From : http://www.pcmag.com
As reported by TechCrunch, the app essentially functions as a social network for recommendations. Users can "stamp" anything for approval (restaurants, books, music, movies, etc.) and others users can share and comment on the stamp.
One of the primary differences between Stamped and similar recommendation apps like Kevin Rose's Oink and the commerce-oriented Wikets is that Stamped only wants your favorite recommendations; low and average ratings aren't supported. So instead of attempting to amass a huge catalogue of ratings from the crowd, Stamped is designed to shrink your decision process by focusing only on the opinions of close friends whose opinions you trust.
One other unique feature is that users only get 100 points, or stamps. This point system is meant to limit the amount of stamp recommendations (and thus increase quality) and add a bit of gamification to the mix. This twist sounds good, but getting consumers to buy into an even marginally complex point system is always a challenge.
Aside from user information, the app also uses data culled from sites such as Amazon, OpenTable, Fandango, and Google Places. Adding to the New York-based app's pedigree is the involvement of famed chef Mario Batali as a company advisor. The app is currently only available for free on the iPhone, but Android and iPad versions are also scheduled for release soon, according to GigaOm.
Critics will point out that this kind of sudden appearance of the same kind of app crafted by many different hands is part of the danger of inventing products in the bubble community of Silicon Valley. In fact, the function of these apps was recently predicted in a hilarious mock app launch video by Nosh creator Alex Cornell. Others will simply chalk up this rash of review apps to consumer demand. You can decide for yourself who's right by viewing the Stamped product tour in the video below, and you can download the Stamped app on the company's Web site and via iTunes.
From : http://www.pcmag.com
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