#thursdayapps: SpotSetter

Unique Feature A Facebook account is required to login, the app’s recommendations are prepared and personalized, by pulling data from your social networks. It takes a while, but it gives you the confidence and/or illusion (your pick) that it is personalized. Here’s the really promising official description:

1. Spotsetter provides personalized recommendations for places to go. "Where to go" is socially relevant and we help answer that through the vast amount of content your friends have already created across all social networks.
2. These friends set the standard for the best spots and we call them Spotsetters. Not only do they explore all these great places, they also love to share opinions about them.
3. Spotsetter helps you find these amazing spots and what your friends have to say about them. Find friendly tips, reviews, and photos about these places, no matter where they’ve been shared.

Features Fast map navigation • Integration with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Foursquare  • Bookmarks • Search • Browse friends’ activities

Pros

• Clean, easy to use.
• Home screen provides a quick glance at friends’ latest photos/places they’ve been to.
• Recommendations are entirely based on your social network friends, from the places they have been to.

• You can set up filters by time frame, who the posts are from (two categories: me or friends), and which social networks to pull data from.
• I like that there’s the map view that shows friends facebook profile pictures in the “pins” dropped on locations. As I can quickly glance through which places and which friends have been to which places. From there I can delve deeper and see their comments and pictures.
• Auto-complete tool helps you find all the places, friends, and things they’ve said.

Cons

• There are only 4 recommendations, every time the app is launched, depending which friends’ activities are the latest.
• You can’t choose which friends’ travel or places you’d want to feature.
• There isn’t a pull down or refresh feature, which for me can be confusing. I’d want to constantly update the recommendations.
• As of now, it seems that my featured recommendations are dominated by instagram users that I follow. I wonder what happen to my Facebook friends who constantly check-in.
• There is no way to deactivate the networks in the app, you have to email to request for disconnection.
• The map feature only works on one city, the more you zoom out, the less friends you will see.

Smile factor

Entirely friends’ recommendations and comments of a place.

The Verdict

I’m constantly wondering if the places displayed are the most up to date, but i love the map view, with little “faces” on it. Makes it easier too, to scan and find certain places. I don’t like the fact that I can’t automatically de-activate certain networks. As of now, it seems that my featured recommendations are dominated by instagram users that I follow. I wonder what happen to my Facebook friends who constantly check-in. I’d like to see more improvements in the app. I feel like I’ll get bored of it easily, though the premise and concept is brilliant.