Meet George!
For this ‘My Apps’ interview, AppAppeal likes you to meet George Spitaliotis from Limassol, Cyprus! He is the co-founder of Buzzmart, a social e-commerce marketplace platform. He has an MSc in Business and IT from Lancaster University (UK) and loves everything and anything to do with cars and technology. He works part-time in a marketing firm and the rest of his time he spends working for Buzzmart. He started Buzzmart because he wanted to make the marketplace a more social experience and more fun. In the time when he came up with the idea for Buzzmart, Facebook was starting to get very popular and he wanted to combine social media and e-commerce to create a marketplace where the person whom you’re buying from is no longer a stranger. This makes the shopping experience much more personal and safe. 
 
- What kind of apps do you use? You can also name mobile apps.
"The most obvious one I can think of right now is Google Apps. This is the one I use most frequently. I use Gmail, Google Calendar, webmaster tools, keyword tools. Professionally, these are the ones I use most often. In my personal life, I also use them to interact with friends and family. I have a diverse multi-cultural background: I am by blood a Greek Cypriot, but I grew up in Frankfurt, Germany most of my life. I’m also a British citizen and I was born in Saudi-Arabia! I speak Greek, English, and German. I also use Facebook to keep track of everyone how I've met all over the world. Professionally, I also use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. It is a marketing channel. And to name another app, I use Ebay a lot because I am in the marketplace business. I’m always testing Ebay and looking at what they’re doing. I also still buy from Ebay! Buzzmart does not have the size of Ebay, not all products are represented on Buzzmart yet." 

- That has to hurt sometimes, doesn’t it? Having to go to your main competitor to buy something?
"Yeah, it does! People in my team are saying: “Oh my God, why do you do that?!? Shame on you!” And I have to reply, in shame: “I couldn’t find in on Buzzmart, so I went to Ebay..”
I use the Ebay app, and I also use their mobile app. I also use the mobile apps for Google Apps, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn a lot. Another mobile app I really like is Shazam. That’s a cool one! When you’re out in the club and you don’t know the song that is being played, it’ll find it for you. Another app I really like, that two friends of mine started, is Pinevio. It’s a social content discovery application. You can discover content from friends and other people that is relevant to your interests. They’ve categorized your interests in something called ‘buckets’. So if I’m interested in e-commerce, it’ll show me a bucket that says ‘e-commerce’ and that will show me relevant links of e-commerce related stuff that other people have shared." 

- Which devices do you use to run the apps (desktop, laptop, tablet, phone)?
"I used to be an iPhone user but I switched to Android. I’m an Android fan boy now. I just think that the iPhone, and the iPad too, are for people who don’t really know how to use computers.. I like to customize my phone and my tablet. I believe that iOS is too restrictive. I think that for the more geekish-type user Android is much better. I won’t deny it, I’m a self-proclaimed geek! You can do a lot more stuff on an Android than on an iPhone. You’d have to jailbreak the iPhone before you can really use it like I want to use it, but then when you want to update it you have a problem, etc. It’s a hassle. So I have an Android! I have a Google Nexus S. I have a net-book with Windows 7. And right now I’m thinking about buying the Asus Eee Transformer tablet, which is an Android tablet."  

- What is your favorite app and why?
"Well... My heart, my soul, my mind is going to say Buzzmart, because I put so much blood and guts into it. But there are also so many other web applications that impress me. I mean, AppAppeal.com is filled with them! I might not use them, but I am just so impressed by all the things that are coming out. And of course, I also love Facebook. It is a cliche, I know, but because of my multi-cultural background I need it to keep in touch with my friends and family and the people I meet. And then, another favorite, is Pinevio, because I want to discover things that people of similar interests are also discovering. Another app I use almost every day is Dropbox. It saves me a lot of hassle with having to put things on usb or whatever."

- What is the most unusual app you have? Why is it unusual?
"That is a difficult question.. I mainly use apps that everybody is using, like Facebook and Twitter. I’ve been so busy creating and using my own app, that I haven’t had the time to look around at other apps that are not mainstream. I started Buzzmart around 5 years ago, and I’ve been very wrapped up in the e-commerce world. There is one app I want to use, because I am very impressed with it. It is a cardiograph app for the iPhone and Android. This app measures your pulse rate. You have to put your finger onto the camera and it lights up the flash and somehow it can measure your pulse rate. I like it because it’s unusual and because I go the gym a lot. I am sometimes curious to know what my pulse rate is. So this app is interesting to use, but I don’t know how accurate it is."  

- Is there an app that is missing? Something you would love to use but does not exist yet?
"Well, there is an idea that my team and I have.. Whether it is a good idea to tell you... I don’t know! But I’ll tell you, because I bet someone else is going to do it anyway sooner or later. The idea involves a search engine that ranks results based on how socially relevant they are. So, for example, how popular let’s say Buzzmart is on social networks. I think Google has started kind of doing that right now, I’m not entirely sure. But I would like to see something like that. It is similar to social content discovery in a way, but it’s in a search engine. So it’s not what other people are sharing, it’s purely a search engine. It is a social search engine. So that's an idea we have, without giving away too much."      
- What app is an undiscovered gem? Something you would want to recommend?
"I would have to say ProductWiki. That is an undiscovered gem for people in my industry. It’s a cool little app that provides an API for people who own web stores or e-commerce marketplaces. It has reviews of products and you can comment on it and write reviews for it. You can implement those reviews into your store or marketplace. It also connects to Facebook and Twitter so that you can share the products you love."

If you want to read more about George or Buzzmart, you can go the website!

Know someone who is perfect for a 'My Apps' interview? Send an email to loescomcoaster.com or leave a comment!