Tapestry and Timeline Apps
Last week saw the release of a new app from The Iconfactory called Tapestry.
It can give you a read-only view of feeds from:
- Youtube
- Mastodon
- Bluesky
- Tumblr
- RSS
- Podcasts
And more, with the ability to build additional connectors using Javascript.
I have heard many people say that they appreciate that the app exists, but that it is not for them.
Many people seem to struggle with the idea that podcasts or Bluesky posts would appear next to each other, because mentally they consider them to be such different things or because podcast time is not Bluesky time.
Others struggle with it being read only. They cannot reply or otherwise interact with the Bluesky post, so simply being able to read it is not enough.
These are both issues that I am still wrestling with myself, but I cannot shake the feeling that there is some sort of utility in having all this in one place.
There are also some interesting customisation options that I have not heard mentioned elsewhere, which I think do improve things.
Firstly it is possible to easily open links in other apps. I actually quite enjoy the river of Reddit posts it provides, but would normally use Narwhal for reading them. You can set up a custom Narwhal open link that allows for one-touch launch of the post in that other app:
If this was easier, or more apps were listed by default (opening a podcast in Overcast for example) then I think I would use it more.
Second of all, there is some really interesting connectors which are not for your average user:
- nginx
- Healthchecks
- Ping website
These suggest that the app could perhaps be better suited to "alerting" feeds rather than something like Reddit, Bluesky or Mastodon "will this never end" feeds. An item in the feed when a new MrBeast video drops. An item in the feed when a rare poster, or very specific topic, appears on Bluesky. An item in the feed when Half-Life 3 finally releases. You can do muffles and mutes in the app already, but how about the opposite?
Speaking of alerts...
Alertbear
For many years this concept was known as a "river of news" and I worked on a Windows app that did this about (holy shit) 19 years ago. The term may have been coined by Dave Winer, but I cannot actually find attribution.
We eventually gave up when failing to get any real traction.
To hear the same thing now called a "timeline" app instead is an interesting shift.
But also perhaps proof that ideas are cyclical. I certainly did not become rich from Alertbear, which may be a warning for The Iconfactory. But I am certainly interested to see where it goes next.