Ticker Type Program

I'm looking forward to maybe hire somebody to write me a ticker-like software/script. However, I'm not sure which program language this would be done, or if that actually doesn't matter. To at least get the project idea going, I'd appreciate your input.

This is the idea:

For an online management game, I'd like to create a tool where users could login to the site through a little software/application, to get access to relevant information of their own accounts, without having to actually open the browser and surf through the site.
It's almost like a ticker, where the user could have a little quicklaunch icon, and accompany important developments such as game results, monitor current bid on a player (auctions), and maybe even check whether a new mail has arrived or a new entry in the guestbook has been made.

The site itself has all this functions, and it would be more a question of developing the application to access different databases. The owners/developers of the site would provide the database information, so that the programmer could work with it.

I hope I was able to bring my idea clearly across. Now my question is, what kind of programmers should I look for? Any advise or hints for a lost newby like me?

Thanks,

/felipao