Introducing Bookshlf
Build your library…
INTRODUCTION
I used to take pride in my highly curated collection of DVDs, displayed proudly on a bookshelf and easily shared with friends and visitors. My DVD shelf represented my taste and personal brand, a snapshot of the movies I thought were great. I’d often lend them out with a thoughtful recommendation and enjoyed the connections I built over shared appreciation.
I haven’t bought a DVD since 2008, but I’m watching and have access to more movies than ever before. I’m also consuming an incredible amount of information, articles, videos, music and podcasts every day. Where can I organize and share them?
PROBLEM
Media platforms are broken and users are frustrated. We’re not properly valuing great content, relegating the things we love to a fleeting Feed that immediately disappears into the social ether.
With more access to more content than ever before, consumers are tired of seeing the same headline ten times, sifting through a Feed of the “loudest voice” or trying to find value in the realities people choose to share online.
SOLUTION — INTRODUCING BOOKSHLF
We developed Bookshlf to empower users to Build Their Library in a fully digital world, by curating shelves of meaningful digital content across an ever-expanding variety of topics.
Humans, not algorithms, share the best content.
HOW IT WORKS
Organization — Users create different “shelves” on their Bookshlf, each one with a distinct topic or focus. Shelf categories are determined by the user, allowing for a more personalized Bookshlf experience.
Curation — Users add their favorite content to each shelf, including context on why they chose that specific link. You can easily add content from outside of the app via the iOS share widget, or input links while in the Bookshlf platform.
Share and Discover — Subscribe to shelves and follow your favorite curators to easily access interesting and relevant content.
EARLY LEARNINGS
Once we built the Bookshlf MVP, we onboarded a small group of alpha users with instructions to organize content that was “meaningful” to them — and the benefit of human curation over algorithms was immediately apparent. Power users quickly emerged, both as curators and consumers on the platform.
Curators appreciated the opportunity to express themselves through great content, posting thoughtful recommendations of their favorite articles, videos, music, podcasts etc., organized into distinct categories (shelves). Users loved the original, higher quality content provided by curated shelves, and also appreciated shared connections with other Bookshlf users who had similar interests.
WHAT’S NEXT
We launched the Bookshlf Beta on August 14, 2019 to refine the mobile and web experience. We anticipate moving out of Beta sometime in September.
If you’re interested in curating, sharing and discovering great content, please visit Bookshlf.co to sign up for early access.
Mike Abend
Co-Founder, Bookshlf
