Appitalism launches a social community for discovering apps (exclusive)

Finding the right app is getting hard in an age of app overkill. That’s why Appitalism has started a social community, combined with an online store, to help consumers quickly discover, discuss, and download the best digital content.

The Appitalism site has a wide catalog of apps that work on a variety of smartphones, tablets, PCs, and eBook readers. In a cross-platform world, that’s important, giving access to more than 10 million premium apps, songs, books, games and videos. The New York-based company is just the sort of company we highlighted at DiscoveryBeat 2010, our recent conference that focused on how to get apps noticed.

Appitalism isn’t biased toward any single device or platform. It can offer independent recommendations that are personalized for a user’s interests, and it can use feedback from the wider community to figure out what the most popular or highly rated apps are.

It’s also a social site where users can chat, discuss, rate and review content on the site. Users can find apps in a variety of ways. They can use the site’s search engine, browse its category directory, or look through community recommendations.

Users can join for free. Those who write reviews and stay engaged are rewarded with titles and badges. They can earn “app rewards” for their contributions to the community and then redeem them by buying apps in the catalog. Once users update their Appitalism profile, the service automatically presents them with only relevant and compatible content. An Android phone user, for example, won’t see suggestions for Apple iPhone apps.

Appitalism was founded earlier this year and has 15 employees. The company has raised $1 million from London’s Mobile Streams. Local versions will be available in 51 countries.

Rival services include Apple’s iTunes store, Google’s Android Market, and independent app recommendation sites such as Appolicious.

Founder Simon Buckingham is the company’s chief executive. He has spent 20 years working in the mobile and digital space at companies including Vodaphone, Brightpoint, Mobile Streams, and Zoomback.