Everyone loves a good Pinterest board. For years it has been the go-to tool for organising everyone’s digital passions and it’s great. I remember my first boards several lifetimes ago… motorbikes, places I want to go and gadgets I must have. It does what it does very well and has enjoyed global success for a good reason.
But where there is success, there will always be others wanting a slice of the pie and here comes Google with their new product Keen.
What is Google Keen?
Based on less than extensive 15 minutes worth of observation, it’s a tool to organise and grow your interests in a digital app.
The key element there is the “growth” and that is where Google’s AI plays a significant part.
Unlike with Pinterest where you stumble upon various things of interest and pin it on your board, Keen will proactively go out to the interwebs and find more things that you may like. You can share your Keen or keep it between you and Google.
So if you are finding Pinterest a bit of a time vampire and find yourself spending more time than you’d want curating it all, you might find Keen an interesting proposition. Now how well will it actually work is anyone’s guess, but I suspect it being Google’s AI, it will take a few moments to figure you out but it will soon find pretty good matches.
If you are a fan of Google Discover (or Google Feed if you’re old enough), you should be fairly confident in the AI’s ability to figure out your interests. At least for me, it is actually scarily accurate. Endless feed of nerd stuff. Awesome!
First impressions
You can use Keen on their website or get the Android app from Google Play Store.
Once you login, you’ll start setting up your first searches and you’ll quickly find yourself tapping on diamonds on an endless feed of procrastination gold based on your keywords.
It takes no time at all to get started and had my phone not rang and saved me from a deep dive into the depths of latest car news and developments from around the world, I’d still be scrolling I’m sure.
I’m interested to see how it works in the long run or whether I have made a grave error in ADHD judgement by installing a monster on my phone.
It’s certainly an easy way to consume information and work through your “Keens” and I’m keen to see how is takes off here in New Zealand and elsewhere or will it end up being another Google+ dud. Only time will tell.
