Google has an experimental section where small teams work together to create small projects. These are experimental and sometimes become a product, while sometimes they meet the dead end. One such project is Google Keen, which Google has quietly announced.
What is Google Keen
Keen looks like another social platform, like Pinterest, where people can collaborate. However, this is a much exciting way of present and curating the idea. So it’s not just another website but may turn out into a user-based recommendation engine going further. Keen is a new way to curate, collaborate, and expand your interests.
In this post, we will share how you can use Google Keen.
How to use Google Keen
What makes Google Keen so interesting is that it uses Google Search, and machine learning to find helpful content that matches your interest. To start using Keen, you can either sign-up using any email account or your Google account. There is an Android app for this, so you can always switch back and forth between the browser and app.
How do I create a Keen
Step 1: Go to StayKeen, and click on the black plus icon on the top. It will take you the create section where you type the topic of your interest and click Next. Here you can choose to get an email about the subject which is sent up to twice a week.
Step 2: The next screen offers you a set of search which you can directly add to the “Save web searches” text box or add some of yours. You also have access to advanced settings under More Settings. Click on it, and here you add a description, and then click on Private link and change it to Shared and Public. If you choose to make it public, then you can allow community suggestions.
Step 3: Click on the create button, and it will instantly list suggestions from the web under the explore tab. Click on the gem icon next to each recommendation, and it will be added to the gems section. It is like a bookmark and will disappear from the explore section. To slightly customize that keen topic, you can edit the search result by editing search terms.
Further, the Explore section allows you to remove results, share them directly, expand, and save it to other Keens.
How to enhance the Keen topic?
The Keen topic you created can be further customized by adding links to your choice and by adding a new section. That is where Keen will become exciting and source of traffic if it matures into a product.
Section: The default gems section places everything under the saved section. If you want to organize links by category, you can create segments and move them from saved to those categories. You can make any of the topics as first, and edit to remove anything which was added incorrectly.
That said, Google Keen looks very interesting. It allows you to organize everything, add topics, add collaborators, and so on. That said, it is not a jaw-dropping product, but makes it stand out is that it is powered by Google Search, and gets accurate results. Here is a result of the Keen we created on How to activate Windows 10.
How does it look when someone visits the Keen topic?
Anyone who visits your keen topic will get to see the Gems and Explore section. The visitor can choose to add a link or text or add from the search. He can also share and follows the topic. The user gets notified as new topics are added. Interesting to note that the update happens in real-time. As new topics get added, the followers get to see it instantly.
Only time will tell if Keen gets the right traction or gets snapped with tons of traffic generated users. That said, it would be worth to know that Keen is a project which grew out of a need for a husband and white sharing information about activities they wanted to share, and essential to them. You can read about it here.
I hope you were able to understand how you can use Google Keen or create a Keen. Visit StayKeen.com to get started.
