Understanding Tapestry: A New Way to Enjoy Your Online Feeds
In today’s digital world, the internet offers immense convenience. However, this convenience often comes with downsides, like overwhelming algorithms and constant advertisements. Many tech companies compete for your attention, creating a cluttered online experience. Tapestry is a refreshing solution to this problem, allowing users to take back control over their online feeds. This article explores what Tapestry is, how to use it effectively, and why it may be the best tool for curating your internet experience.
What is Tapestry?
Tapestry is a timeline app available for iPhone and iPad, developed by The Iconfactory, a team known for crafting user-friendly applications. Unlike traditional social media apps that use algorithms to control what you see, Tapestry empowers you to create a personalized timeline from various sources, including blogs, YouTube channels, podcasts, and social media feeds. This feature guides you away from the clutter of corporate algorithms, enabling you to curate your content experience in a way that matters most to you.
What is a Timeline App?
Timeline apps are a modern way to reclaim your online experience. They allow you to compile posts from several platforms and display them in a straightforward, chronological timeline. This personalized approach lets you follow content that interests you without the noise of unrelated information. Think of it as a fancy RSS reader with broader support for various content types.
Getting Started with Tapestry
Installation and Setup
To get started with Tapestry, download it from the App Store. Once installed, the app will guide you through a helpful sign-up process, where you can choose from a variety of recommended feeds to populate your timeline with just one tap. If you prefer to customize your selection, you can skip the recommendations and manually add your feeds by:
- Opening the Settings tab.
- Tapping the Add Feed button.
- Pasting the URL of the desired website, YouTube channel, podcast, or social media account.
Tapestry will automatically fetch the relevant feed, making it quick and easy to build your timeline.
Features of Tapestry
User-Friendly Interface
Tapestry’s free tier offers a generous amount of features, allowing you to add multiple feeds to an almost endless scrolling timeline. If you enjoy a post, you can tap the flag icon to bookmark it or use the share button to send it to friends or post it on social media. While the free version does contain ads, they are designed to be non-intrusive, often encouraging you to add more feeds.
Organizing Your Timeline
One of the standout features of Tapestry is its clean and beautifully designed interface. Posts from different sources are color-coded for easy identification, and each post prominently displays the logo of the feed it originated from. You can customize your experience by adjusting settings such as:
- Font styles
- Length of post previews
- Size of each post displayed
These options allow you to tailor your timeline to how you like to read and view your content.
Essential Features for Navigation
- Post Expansion: Each post is truncated for a cleaner look, but you can easily read the full content by tapping the Read More button.
- Filters: Tapestry includes two handy filters—Muffles and Mutes. Muffles hide posts containing specific keywords, while Mutes completely block posts with certain keywords, letting you curate your timeline further.
The Tapestry Experience Without a Subscription
While Tapestry’s free version has many positive features, it limits you to a single timeline. You still have access to various timeline filters, but upgrading to the paid tier opens up additional benefits. The premium option costs approximately $2 per month or $20 per year. For those who prefer a one-time purchase, a lifetime unlock is available for $80.
Benefits of Upgrading
Upgrading removes ads and allows you to create multiple timelines. This can be particularly useful if you wish to differentiate between various types of content, such as social media feeds, newsletters, and more. For example, some users prefer combining posts from different platforms into one seamless feed, which Tapestry allows.
Enhancing Your Viewing Experience
Tapestry is designed to make it easy for you to consume and organize content. For instance, it remembers your position in the feed, which many users find incredibly convenient. If you frequently switch between feeds, Tapestry keeps track of your progress, so you can pick up right where you left off.
Interactive Features
One point to remember is that Tapestry doesn’t allow you to post directly to social media or interact with content in the traditional sense. Instead, tapping the post gives you the option to open it where it was originally hosted, enabling you to engage with the higher level features there.
Pros and Cons of Tapestry
Advantages
- User-Friendly Design: Modern and appealing interface.
- Feed Customization: Complete control over what you see.
- Effective Filtering: Ability to remove unwanted content.
- Integrated Media: Enjoy podcasts and videos without switching apps.
Disadvantages
- Limited Features in Free Version: Single timeline only unless you upgrade.
- Lack of Social Media Interaction: Cannot engage directly within Tapestry; must switch to original platforms.
Conclusion: Is Tapestry Right for You?
Tapestry is an excellent choice for anyone looking to create a more personalized online experience without the invasive influences of big tech companies. While the app is in its early stages, it is impressively polished for its first version. If you’re someone who values a tailored content feed, Tapestry could become your go-to app.
If Tapestry isn’t quite your style, consider exploring other similar apps, like Reeder, which also offers a sleek timeline experience. Ultimately, the best choice for you will depend on your preferences in design and features.
