The next generation of Instapaper

#1

Post by paulbz » Thu, Apr 25, 2013, 10:00 PM UTC

The next generation of Instapaper
marco.org

Re: The next generation of Instapaper

#2

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Apr 25, 2013, 10:06 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: The next generation of Instapaper

#3

Post by rkudeshi » Thu, Apr 25, 2013, 10:07 PM UTC

I wonder how much this has to do with the rise of Pocket over the last year.

It's no secret that Pocket has improved dramatically since rebranding a year ago. And I'm sure most people who are looking for their first "read-later" app are trying Pocket (free) before buying Instapaper ($5).

Personally speaking, I bought Instapaper for myself and gifted it to a few other people over the years, but I switched to Pocket a few months ago. The continuous updates and simpler interface (those thumbnail pics are surprisingly useful) won me over, despite my hesitations about their business model.

Re: The next generation of Instapaper

#4

Post by emehrkay » Thu, Apr 25, 2013, 10:07 PM UTC

I enjoyed the podcast that Marco had on the 5by5 network because he seemed like such a regular guy who happens to work hard and put out a popular product. A lot of times it also motivated me to get to work on my own things. Congrats to him and Im looking forward to what he does next

Re: The next generation of Instapaper

#5

Post by designatedInit » Thu, Apr 25, 2013, 10:07 PM UTC

Congratulations to Marco. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

Re: The next generation of Instapaper

#6

Post by ambirex » Thu, Apr 25, 2013, 10:09 PM UTC

When I compare this to the Parse/Facebook deal, this seems like a more natural transition.

I actually doubt it has much to do with Pocket, instead I think is exactly how Marco put it, grown bigger than a single person could manage.

Congrats to both Marco and Betaworks.

Re: The next generation of Instapaper

#7

Post by Kylekramer » Thu, Apr 25, 2013, 10:10 PM UTC

Arment two days ago: https://twitter.com/marcoarment/status/326757551947530240

He may be just refuting the "peak downloads/full time on Magazine" claim, but kind of an odd response given this.

Re: The next generation of Instapaper

#8

Post by ihwt4 » Thu, Apr 25, 2013, 10:13 PM UTC

I switched from Instapaper to Readability about a year ago, despite Instapaper being faster and having a better (actual) business model. I was lured by the beautiful reading experience that comes with Readability’s iOS apps.

Hopefully, with a focussed team behind it, Instapaper will begin to catch up on the design front. I’m looking forward to seeing where Betaworks take it.

Re: The next generation of Instapaper

#9

Post by kgosser » Thu, Apr 25, 2013, 10:16 PM UTC

Betaworks.com getting hammered right now. I hope they are better at managing Instapaper ops!

I tease, I tease. In all seriousness, congrats to Marco. A real hero of The Internet.

Re: The next generation of Instapaper

#10

Post by abdophoto » Thu, Apr 25, 2013, 10:18 PM UTC

rkudeshi wrote: post #3

I wonder how much this has to do with the rise of Pocket over the last year. It's no secret that Pocket has improved dramatically since rebranding a year ago. And I'm sure most people who are looking for their first "read-later" app are trying Pocket (free) before buying Instapaper ($5). Personally speaking, I bought Instapaper for myself and gifted it to a few other people over the years, but I switched to Pocket a…

It absolutely had something to do with it. I don't think anyone would say that Instapaper is 4x better than Pocket ($3.99 vs Free). If anything Pocket has clearly made a name for itself with better design and its new Pocket for Publishers API. I think Instapaper saw its peak about 6 month - 1 year ago and with The Magazine doing well, it was smart of Marco to sell it off in my opinion.