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Indigo Goes Where Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, and a Dozen Publishers and Startups Have Dared to Tread

AAEAAQAAAAAAAAlfAAAAJGZmMzJkNWViLTljNTYtNDIwYS1iYzQ4LWQxZDA4MzI0YTI5MgThe Canadian media retailer Indigo has apparently decided that there aren’t enough book recommendation apps in the world, so they are launching one with the unique and original name of RECO:

What separates RECO from similar apps, according to a press release, is that its recommendations are curated solely by friends and experts, not algorithms.

After signing up, users are led through a “smart” personalization exercise to build a profile and make their tastes known. Based on common interests, RECO then allows users to subscribe to curated book lists from experts and others with similar tastes.

At the time of launch, more than 8 million books in the app have been tagged with “rich interest profiles” to help users discover new books.

Reco is strictly iPhone-only at this time. There’s a website, but it’s just a placeholder which directs you to download the app in iTunes. An Android app is planned for late 2016.

“As a lifelong booklover, nothing brings me more joy than sharing a book I love with my friends,” said Heather Reisman, RECO’s co-founder and Indigo’s CEO. “RECO is a platform for everyone to share the joy of reading and nothing beats getting a recommendation from someone whose opinion I trust.”

Based on the post which was published on LinkedIn (and then deleted), Indigo actually launched Reco a couple months ago.  There are fourteen reviews in iTunes, which suggests that at least a few hundred people have downloaded the app.

Have you tried it? What do you think?

DBW

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Comments


Randy Lea July 19, 2016 um 3:26 pm

There are tons of book sites that suggest books to read. What they all fail at doing is to actually do any work. Books are stuffed into large categories, say Mystery or History. You can get this info directly from Amazon. Also, most people read best sellers, by definition, which are trivial to find. We need help finding long tail books.

The way to succeed in this market segment is increase the number of categories, such as British Mysteries or Scottish Noir, instead of just Mystery. Provide World War II history instead of just History.

I try all the services, but end up killing them, because they provide no more or better info than Amazon and other book sellers.


poiboy July 19, 2016 um 4:26 pm

gosh i wish there was a way my friends on goodreads have been doing this for years already. :/


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