Just as I was putting my pore strip on my nose last night (it’s manly, trust me), post a wicked session of killing dinosaurs on the Dino Cap app, I thought about how there should be a real-time news aggregator that shoots articles at me that I actually want to read. I did a little “googling”, I believe that is what kids are calling it these days, and found that there is such an app! On the Iphone, Ipad and most recently launched on Android (for you backwards thinkers)! The Application is called Skygrid, and its free!
This app is elegantly put together: Skygrid artfully gives you a quick snapshot of what’s happening in the world in general, what’s happening in the world in different categories and THEN most importantly, what’s happening in regards to your own personal interests. Kevin Pomplun and the Skygrid team have rocked the news with this App! Also, as this is a free application we’re talking about, they are at the mercy of the feedback that users present them with and thus they are more inclined to listen to feedback. Skygrid wants a relationship with the user. However, no app remains free for eternity…
One feature the app is lacking is the ability to follow a specific blog or author. For instance, let’s say I search and select to follow the tag word “Lalawag”, it doesn’t place the articles in the order that Lalawag displays them, instead it aggregates a bunch of articles. It would be great to follow certain content producers and not only categories of news in individual streams. In their defense, they are already on version 1.7 of their application, so I’m sure that in a short time, we will be seeing the functionality that I so desire.
As for the best free news aggregating application, Skygrid’s algorithms are kick ass, and give me access to substantial content without needing to pay a dime. I’m not buying news anymore: I’m just going to read the news with Skygrid. It’s fast, easy and updates without you knowing it.
Did you know that Pete Sampras’ trophies were stolen? Well I didn’t until I got my Skygrid app. SUCKKKKAAAA!
