Over the past 12 months, Reader apps have introduced AI to transform the way users consume news. The now-defunct Artifact from the Instagram co-founder introduced AI-powered summaries and headlines. Newer apps like Bulletin and the former Twitter engineer's Particle take a similar approach. However, developer Nate Parrott's app Feeeeed (with four E's), available for iPhone and iPad, focuses on algorithms that combine different sources to create his timelines.
app
Like other reader apps, Feeeed allows you to add RSS feeds to your timeline. But there are many other options, including a newsletter, YouTube channel, Hacker News, subreddits, Mastodon's profile, Tumblr blog, and Twitter account. You can also add birthdays, weather (US only), step counts, photo flashbacks, personal reminders, and flashbacks. The most unique integration is the way it tracks parts of web pages.
Image credit: Screenshot by TechCrunch
Your home feed displays a mix of posts from sources you follow. Posts are displayed in card format by default, but not in chronological order. Unlike other he RSS readers, there is no need to get a read count as the purpose is to discover content, not reach the reader's “inbox his zero”. However, if you want to check out the latest posts, you can pin the “Latest” tab to the bottom bar. Alternatively, you can change the ranking of your feed from “Best Varieties” to “Time Series”.
Image credit: Screenshot by TechCrunch
Your main feed will be empty until you start following a source, such as from the Subscribe or Explore tab. To make better discoveries, Parrott added occasional source suggestions and his AI-powered bot to the app last year. The bot can suggest something in response to a query like “What blogs or newsletters talk about football (soccer)?”
construction cost
Parrott told TechCrunch in an email that the process of building the app began during the pandemic when he had a strong urge to scroll continuously. He used various sources to build something for himself.
“The urge to pull out my phone and flick through is so strong. I've tried quitting various social media apps at different times, but with no success, so I've given in to the urge to scroll and have no idea what's worth. “I thought, why not redirect to something else? I wanted a news feed for myself, tailored to my convenience,” he said.
“I think the whole idea of a newsfeed for yourself is key to understanding this app on your own terms. You choose what's important to you, and Feeeed reminds you of it. Icons, tabs , algorithms, and layouts.”
Image credit: Screenshot by TechCrunch
Parrott said he didn't initially build a recommendation engine. However, after launching the app in 2022, we realized that content discovery was the biggest demand from our users.
“I think the idea of an infinite scrollable feed is very powerful. It becomes a habit. You can see it as a bad thing, or you can see it as a reality of our relationship with technology, and you can see it as a “train” You can say, “If you want to scroll through your feed while I'm waiting, you can do it anytime.'' At least remind me that I should text my friends on their birthdays? ” he said.
what happens?
While there is room for AI-driven implementation in this area, Parrott doesn't see the technology being used to get more news to people faster. Rather, we want to explore ways that people can follow more sources, such as podcasts, local news, and niche websites.
Feeeed is currently testing the ability to display daily updates generated by AI. In addition to that, Parrott is also working on customizing feeds and notifications.
Image credit: Nate Parrott
Parrott said that in the long term, he wants to allow people to discover personalized content without having to do much.
“The big challenge for Feeed is to give people a very personal feed without requiring too much work. Apple News is popular because it requires no setup work,” the developer said. states.