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Google launches its own version of Pinterest called Keen

Keen is the latest experiment from Google's Area 120.
Written by Aimee Chanthadavong, Contributor

Google has announced its latest experiment from its startup incubator Area 120 and People and AI Research team called Keen, a web and Android app that allows users to curate content from the web and share the collection with others.

In a blog post, Keen co-founder CJ Adams explained how users can make a "keen" about any topic or interest they wish -- from baking, bird watching, or researching typography -- by creating a title, and saving and adding related web searches, texts, and images.

He touted how Keen is not intended to "be a place to spend endless hours browsing" but rather a place where people can share and grow their interests. 

Adams added for every keen created, Google will use Google Search index and machine learning to suggest related content.

"The more you save to a keen and organise it, the better the recommendations become," he wrote.

"Even if you're not an expert on a topic, you can start curating a keen and save a few interesting 'gems' or links that you find helpful. These bits of content act like seeds and help keen discover more and more related content over time."

The keens can be made private or public, so users can control what is shared and who can contribute to it. At the same time, users will be able to follow keens created by others.

Google has not yet announced when it plans to shut the service down.

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