Personalized News App Offers Fun Games and Real World Rewards

Will Schmidt Jan 18, 2013 Tweet

The powerhouse team behind the upcoming news sensation NewsUp has put hours of effort towards changing the way Americans inform themselves. Through experiences at companies and corporations including ChangeUp Magazine, The Baltimore Sun, NASA, Connect AI, Aramak, Ignition 72, 4Ten Technologies, and Starwood Resorts, NewsUp has an extremely impressive resume of leadership behind it in order to achieve the goal of creator Andrew Schuster. “While we have access to more information than ever before, data continues to prove that comprehension is declining, particularly amongst young adults,” says Schuster. In today’s media-inflamed world, it can be difficult for news readers to inform themselves with news that is pertinent to their lives.

To help solve this problem, NewsUp has been designed on a two-part system. Half game, half news app, it utilizes user selected content preferences to personalize news stories that are one-hundred percent in line with the topics of interest. NewsUp then provides a comprehensive game rewards system where the player gets points for reading more articles, answering in-depth trivia about their selected topics, and sharing interesting articles with their peers. The point of this system is to accrue the most points within one’s family, work group, or friend group and become the head honcho in the news world. Those points can then be redeemed for real prizes, like an iPad or a discounted meal at a local restaurant - not too shabby. From the perspective of the NewsUp team though, they have already won the important game because they are accomplishing their goal of increasing news awareness, knowledge of current events, and reader information levels. The flip side of the coin is that NewsUp also provides the player with the most up-to-date headlines across the news spectrum so that important and breaking news is not missed out on.

Schuster thinks, “If nothing is done to reduce the sense of (being overwhelmed) that technology causes news readers, then the reader will ultimately abandon any effort to become aware or informed of what is going on in the country or the large scope of the world.” This game system, then, becomes very important because it actively engages groups who might not care about global politics, the environment, or religious issues. Whatever the interest of the reader, once the news starts rolling, it will be hard to stop, and since NewsUp constantly displays up-to-date headlines across the board, it will be near impossible for the reader to stay only in the realm of sports, comedy, or entertainment. Thus, NewsUp engages readers with a fun way to read the news while simultaneously informing them on important issues. The NewsUp team obviously wants to accomplish their goal of informing a wide population of citizens, and they have been able to adapt a wonderful solution by thinking outside the box as to how the news is delivered. As the team says, “The news you want, the points you’ll earn…NewsUp, read on!”