Weekly Prompt: New app 'Tapestry' weaves together online content

New app 'Tapestry' weaves together online content

A new iOS app powered by the open web, called Tapestry, has launched, offering users a unified platform to access content from a diverse range of online sources. Developed by Iconfactory, the team behind the now-defunct Twitter client Twitterrific, Tapestry arrives following a successful Kickstarter campaign. The app aggregates feeds from platforms including RSS, YouTube, Bluesky, podcasts, Mastodon, Reddit, Tumblr, Micro.blog, and GO Comics, presenting them in a single chronological timeline.

Tapestry aims to solve the increasing challenge of managing content across multiple online platforms. It supports various protocols and allows users to add connectors, expanding its compatibility with emerging online services. The app offers extensive customisation options, allowing users to personalize the appearance of their feeds, from fonts and themes to link behaviour. A key feature carried over from Twitterrific is the "muffle" option, which collapses unwanted items without removing them entirely, offering a nuanced approach to content filtering.

Iconfactory emphasises user privacy, stating all data is stored locally and neither sold nor shared. While free to download, a subscription unlocks features like multiple feeds, ad removal, and custom icons. Subscriptions are priced at $1.99 monthly, $19.99 annually, or a one-time purchase of $79.99.

Sources: 9to5 Mac, TechCrunch, The Verge

Additional Prompts

Graze lets Bluesky users create and monetise custom feeds. Graze, a startup offering custom feed creation tools for the Bluesky social network, has launched a novel monetisation strategy. The platform allows users to build, customise, publish, and manage their own Bluesky feeds, offering greater control over content compared to algorithm-driven platforms. Graze plans to empower feed creators to generate revenue through advertising, sponsored posts, and subscriptions, leveraging Bluesky's Jetstream data aggregation feature.

Uniquely, Graze gives feed operators control over displayed ads, allowing for greater relevance and alignment with user interests and values. This targeted approach bypasses personal data collection, requiring advertisers to select specific feeds based on their target audience.  Read more

Threads now offers public custom feeds. Threads now lets users create and share public custom feeds, similar to a key feature offered by Bluesky. This allows for personalised content streams based on interests, like sport, books, or art. Threads emphasises ease of creation, requiring no technical skills. Users can follow others' public feeds and pin them to their home screens. This differs from Bluesky, where custom feeds can also be used for sorting and filtering content beyond just interests. Threads' new feature is accessible via a "Feeds" tab on user profiles. Read more

YouTube Communities are expanding. YouTube is expanding access to its "Communities" feature, a built-in alternative to platforms like Discord, for more creators. Currently mobile-only, Communities allows creators to post text and images, fostering fan interaction directly within the YouTube app. Access remains invite-only, distributed via email and channel banners. To clarify the feature set, YouTube is renaming the existing "Community" tab to "Posts." This change aims to differentiate between existing post functionality and the new Community interaction spaces. Read more