# Crowdsourced College News Apps The Wildfire App Lets Students Share What's Happening Around Them By Michael Hines | Published 2017-09-06 | Tech Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/wildfire-app References: [producthunt](https://www.producthunt.com/posts/wildfire-2) & [itunes.apple](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wildfire-hot-college-news/id1046411483?ref=producthunt) The Wildfire app is a new crowdsourced news app targeted at college students. Submissions are [location-based](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/sharepath) and can be a short message or a message and photo. Users can browse posts based on categories, which include things like safety (fires or theft) and celebrity sightings (a sighting of a musical artist or pro athlete on campus). Many apps have tried to do crowdsourced news, but the Wildfire app is taking a simplistic approach that could be more appealing to the masses. Both its layout and submission process are similar to what you'd expect to find on a social media service. While the Wildfire app is ostensibly an app for learning about what's going on around you and your school there are also [social elements](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/waffle) to it, like the ability to like posts and the "campus chatter" category. The Wildfire app is out now for both iOS and Android. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 0.9/10 - Popularity: 4% | Activity: 15% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Tech](https://www.trendhunter.com/tech) > [Mobile](https://www.trendhunter.com/mobile) ## Key Themes ### Key Themes Behind This Trend - **Crowdsourced College News:** The trend of crowdsourcing news for college communities creates opportunities for businesses to advertise locally or sponsor content. - **Location-based Social Media:** Location-based apps that incorporate social media features provide opportunities for businesses to target specific audiences based on their interests and location. - **Simplistic News Layout:** Simplifying news app layouts makes information more accessible, creating opportunities for businesses to deliver personalized content in a concise format. ### Where This Applies - **Education:** Location-based apps that share information among school communities and local businesses present opportunities for the education industry to enhance campus experiences. - **Media/news:** Crowdsourced news apps like Wildfire open up opportunities for media companies to access information and stories that would have gone unnoticed. - **Marketing/advertising:** Location-based news and social media apps provide an opportunity for targeted advertising to local college communities. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Crowdsourced Wildfire Cameras](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/fire-watch.md) - [Innovative Activity-Finding Apps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/we-outside.md) - [Community Social Apps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/beezle-social.md) - [Viral Social Shopping Apps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/claim-app.md) - [Customizable Friendship-Forging Apps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/iradius-networking-app.md) - [AI Student Chat Apps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/student-life-with-zapshot.md) - [Social Media-Like Study Apps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/social-medialike-study-apps-sharpen-aims-to-be-just-as-engaging-and-conveni.md) - [Anonymous Campus Story Sharing](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/unstag.md) - [College-Focused Social Platforms](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tiktoks-campus-verification.md)