Automattic-owned running a blog website and social platform Tumblr has financially backed Tapestry, the newly launched app designed to prepare feeds from across the open web, together with RSS, Mastodon, Bluesky, and others.
Launched as a Kickstarter undertaking in January 2024, Tapestry went on to boost over $177,000 by way of crowdfunding for its app, which opened as much as the general public earlier this month with its App Retailer debut.
On Tuesday, the corporate behind the app shared that Tumblr had additionally backed its undertaking with a grant. These funds shall be used to construct a local macOS model of its app. (Within the meantime, the app’s iPad model can run on Macs.)
Tumblr’s curiosity on this area follows its 2019 acquisition by WordPress.com dad or mum Automattic, which is moving Tumblr’s back end to WordPress to streamline operations. On account of this transfer, Tumblr will get plugged into the fediverse, the open social net powered by ActivityPub, the protocol that powers Mastodon, Threads, Pixelfed, and lots of different apps.
Designed by The Iconfactory, greatest identified for its work on Twitterific, one of many authentic third-party Twitter apps, Tapestry permits customers to prepare quite a lot of sources — like weblog posts, information articles, and social media updates — into feeds of their very own creation.
The app helps sources like RSS (information feeds), YouTube, podcasts, Bluesky, Mastodon, Reddit, Tumblr, Micro.weblog, GO Comics, and others.
The broader concept behind Tapestry is to present customers extra management over how they obtain information and knowledge.
With the rise of the open social web particularly, individuals can now higher management their on-line expertise. As an alternative of being beholden to a tech big’s algorithms, customers on apps like Bluesky are constructing their very own feeds, subscribing to specialised feeds constructed by others, and configuring their very own moderation companies.
Because of Tumblr’s backing, Iconfactory says it additionally launched a sponsorship program in Tapestry, which permits advertisers to market their services and products to the app’s person base. As an alternative of utilizing conventional web adverts to help the app, the sponsorship function is constructed with small, impartial creators in thoughts, Iconfactory notes.
“Our hope is that the group round Tapestry will wish to learn about thrilling indie apps, blogs which are fueled by enthusiasm, and podcasts or YouTube channels that inform and entertain,” an Iconfactory blog post explains.
Tapestry is one in all a handful of apps that’s now making an attempt to supply that very same stage of customization by constructing an aggregator targeted on the broader net that’s constructed on open protocols, as a substitute of only a single social community, like Bluesky.
Others competing on this area embody Surf, Feeeed, and Reeder.
Tumblr and the workforce at Iconfactory have been requested for touch upon the monetary grant. We’ll replace if extra info is offered.
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