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