Comments on: iCurrent Wants to Personalize News for the Masses

By: Michael Rubenstein

Michael Rubenstein — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:38:58 +0000

Honestly, the first thing that jumped out at me was the disjointed, uninviting, and downright ugly design. It was clearly an afterthought, and it shows. I understand design probably wasn't high on the list (it being a complex software application) but this is not acceptable.

How can a $3 million startup manage to botch something so critically important to their success?

By: Ramana R.

Ramana R. — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:27:34 +0000

First, all respect to Greg Linden who worked hard for years toward the goal and who remains a fabulous blogger.

A couple of differences. One on the matching, we emphasize explicit input on the user's interests, though we don't see this as an either/or.

More importantly, the second difference is that from the beginning, we've focused on the whole experience for everybody. When you think from that perspective, esp. the mainstream part, you see many things across the full system differently. A big example is that prioritization across interests is as important as ranking within interests.

Happy Thanksgiving all

By: Marshall Kirkpatrick

Marshall Kirkpatrick — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:00:28 +0000

I’d like to try this one out, I can’t keep up with all the awesome startups in this space right now. Regator’s new iPhone app rocks, http://collected.info is fun, lazyfeed and yourversion are both a lot of fun too. you gotta break free from Google Reader, Liz! :)

By: Steve Ardire

Steve Ardire — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:34:40 +0000

Peter congrats. I have one question. How is icurrent different & better than findory personalized newspaper that is no longer around ? ( Greg Linden was CEO and founder )

Thx in advance....Steve

Posted by: Steve Ardire | November 24, 2009 at 06:07 PM

To be candid, I think that's a question for Ramana. As I recall, Findory was well-received in certain circles. I don't know the specifics of why it shut down. I've learned companies fail for a myriad of reasons and the root causes are often a series of choices made long before the end is obvious.

Posted by: Peter Rip | November 24, 2009 at 08:17 PM

http://bit.ly/7KsjAt