iPhone app delivers geo-targeted and personalized news

Taking advantage of today's mobile geo-targeting capabilities, SPUN delivers city-specific news and information via an iPhone app.

Several years back we saw two separate efforts to deliver hyperlocal news in printed form – first The Printed Blog, then a similar effort from The New York Times – and recently we came across something similar in digital form. Now taking advantage of today’s mobile geo-targeting capabilities, SPUN delivers city-specific news and information via an iPhone app. Created by the Brooklyn-based makers of Broadcastr, another location-based app, SPUN is “the easiest way to keep your finger on the pulse of your city. It’s a constantly updated urban guide, insider tip sheet, and local news on steroids,” its makers explain. Specifically, the app curates stories from hundreds of news and lifestyle sources – including new restaurant openings, fashion boutiques, and concerts, for example – and “spins” them into mobile form for local users. SPUN users can follow topics they’re interested in; they can also get reminders when a local show is about to open. In fact, the app will even alert them when they’re nearby a place they want to check out. SPUN will soon be live in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, DC, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Portland, and Seattle, with further locations following in the future. “About 66 percent of Americans access local content in some form every day, but discovering the best stuff about where you live is time consuming and difficult,” SPUN’s makers explain. The app will be available for download from 28 November. Location-minded entrepreneurs around the globe: how about delivering a similar local guide in your part of the world?