What is Keen?
Keen is a Pinterest like app that utilizes machine learning to create interest boards. It is an easy way to save bookmarks or links in a visually pleasing format.
But this is so much more than a Pinterest competitor.
Keen is a new location to grow traffic and popularity utilizing AI for users to discover web content. It does not passively recommend content in response to search queries. Instead it actively searches and suggests relevant content to users as opposed to Pinterest.
This is an experimental app for web and Android that is part of Google’s area 120 projects. Which is where small teams work together in a small startup mode to create innovational projects.
How to use Keen?
Keen is both a web and Android App. It lets you curate content that you love and share your collection with others and find new content based off what you have already saved. For all the keens you create, Google uses their latest machine learning to look for helpful content related to your interests. The more you save, the better the recommendations.
The content your curate can be kept private, shared with specific people, or shared with the public.
Why is Keen Beneficial?
This could be an excellent way for website publishers, search marketers and content marketers to see how it might fit into their marketing strategy.
This is a new source of traffic for your website that could be a powerful way to attract more visitors to your site. Since this program is set up to become a new source of referral traffic, it is worthy of investigation. This could potentially be a useful tool to fit into your marketing strategy along with SEO.
A search engine waits for us to ask a question, but Keen is more proactive. Keen actively recommends content that you might enjoy. And the more information Keen gathers about your preferences, the more accurate the results will be.
The look reminds me of a magazine instead of an app. It is a way of collecting your ideas instead of a list or checklist. Keen is also helpful when you are looking for inspiration before you have a fully developed idea.
What to create on Keen?
Create boards on Keen that you want to learn more stuff about. For instance, learning how to make homemade pasta. Google will generate a board using the power of Google Search. You can add more searches, hash tags or users to your Keens.
Since you can share your collections with others, you can follow other Keens and get alerts when new content is added.
Where can I start using this app?
Start using the app right now with Keen on the web or you can download the official Keen Android App from the Google Play Store.
The History of Keen
The story started with a husband and wife that started collecting some things that brought them joy and sharing them with each other. They would send links to resources with subject matter regarding their shared interests. The couple found that collecting ideas, links and resources together gave them a way to spend more time together on their shared passions.
They created a new experiment called Keen as part of Area 120, Google’s workshop for experimental projects.
Google says that this app is not a place to waste endless hours browsing, but a home for your interests that you can grow, share to help make life more fun.
Read Google’s Announcement
Want to share your passion with the world? Get Keen
Allan Todd is CEO of Pagecafe Digital Marketing. In 2022, Allan teamed up with Infront Webworks to provide digital marketing, website design, content marketing, SEO and strategy and solutions to local businesses. Allan lives in Colorado Springs.