June 17, 2013
It's a good idea to keep up to date on news about Circa
With all the attention Circa has been receiving lately, you’d think it was the best news app since sliced bread. And you wouldn’t be far wrong — it serves the news in bite-sized slices and offers a way to receive added slices on topics that catch your interest.
An article might start off as a few screens of information, but can grow over the days and weeks as more information becomes available. You use a checkmark system to follow along.
Once you get used to the concept, it’s a neat way to keep up with the news, especially stuff that might otherwise get lost in the shuffle. And it’s especially suited to mobile.
As an example, there have been rumours about various companies taking over or buying Hulu, a U.S. TV and video streaming service. They started swirling in March and there have been updates as late as June 6. As long as that story stays in my Followed list, I can keep up with the latest.
There are a few drawbacks to the app at this point, the main one being the limited number of topics. If you live outside the United States, nothing about your own country will be covered unless it’s something of interest to the rest of the world. The Politics section covers only American politics. And beyond that there are Technology and Science & Health.
I suspect Circa will broaden its range soon with the hiring of Anthony De Rosa as editor in chief. He has a fine pedigree as Reuters’ former social media editor, and a version 2.0 is said to be in the works.
De Rosa and CEO Matt Galligan have alluded to plans for partnerships with other news providers along with some original reporting of their own. Circa is a pure-play news app — not the product of an old-school news service — so it’s definitely worthwhile to watch where it is headed.
You could even, ahem, put it on the Follow list.