INTRODUCING READUP
Let me preface this newsletter by making a proclamation: reading online was something I found incredibly difficult, until I found the “social reading app” Readup.
Readup is an app I have interwoven into my life dating all the way back to December 2019. The co-founders are two gentlemen, Jeff Camera and Bill Loundy, I have been in close contact with over the past nine months. Jeff and Bill, have been building Readup over the past five years. Needless to say, Readup was not built in a day.
Readup is a one stop shop for reading articles online. The platform essentially acts as a safehouse for articles you would like to read now, tomorrow, or even next year, as you build up your library of articles using the "My Reads" function on the Readup Platform.
The way you build up a library of "My Reads" is by utilizing one of the many browser extensions Readup has created such as the Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge and/or Safari extension. They also have an iOS app, which I use regularly to read an article off of my iPhone rather than scrolling social media feeds first thing in the morning. You are able to use the app and browser extensions interchangeably by reading an article half-way through on one, picking up where you left on the other (and vice-versa).
Let me tell you, it really does enable you to sustain your attention, and work your way through more articles than you ever have before.
The true perk of using Readup is that it converts every article you come across online into the same minimalist format (light or dark mode) which creates the opportunity for deep, distraction-free reading. Every article you export to Readup, will look like the exact same!
The best part about reading with Readup is there are NO ADS. Which if you ask me, the biggest struggle of being able to successfully remain focused while reading online is having an ad interrupt your concentration.
What does reading an article on Readup look like?
Pre-Readup Pic of an article.
Great, I do love the artist RAC. Matter of fact, that is why I picked to read this article.
However, where is the text? Where is the title to this article? And how am I not going to fall down a sudden rabbithole by clicking further into Will Smith’s new Workout routine highlighted on the far right? SHOW ME THE TEXT of the article I chose right off of the bat please.
Post-Readup Pic of an article.
First off, it is wonderful that you actually see the title for this piece: “How RAC Is Using NFTs to Empower Artists”.
Elegant, simple and easy. It has what has made me call Readup: A solace for our attention.
Not only is the formatting of articles incredibly easy to be able to lock-in and have some “deep reading” time… but there are also three other incredible features that draw me back to reading on Readup.
Readup Comments
Choosing to follow me on Readup, is a commitment to be inside of my thought process. The reason being, is that with majority of the articles I read, I take full advantage of the comments feature built within Readup. The most wonderful part about commenting on Readup, is that there is a lower probability of trolling in the comments section to occur.. due to the sheer amount of attention/time one has to pay to read an article in its entirety.
In order to place a comment on an article on Readup, you must read the article in its entirety. This is what it takes to earn the privilege of commenting, paying attention.
While making progress on the article I chose to read above “How RAC is using NFTs to Empower Artists”, Readup’s unique reading-tracking technology gauges how many minutes I have been reading the article. This ensures that I have spent the proper time to finish an article, based upon the average reading speed it takes to read X amount of words. You can learn more about the technical aspects of this feature on Readup’s blog “How Readup Knows Whether or Not You’ve Read an Article” by Jeff Camera.
Here is a screenshot of my comment on “How RAC is using NFTs to Empower Artists”
After making it all the way through, a longer piece, I typically like to highlight a quote or two that I really enjoyed within the article. Just as I did in the comments section above.
I have found that coming up with a response to a quote, and putting my understanding into my own words, is a really powerful way of learning and expanding my thought process on a complicated topic, such as NFTs.
It is my belief that Readup’s Comments is the most underrated part of the platform.
Readup Stats
Below, is a screenshot of one of my other favorite features, the “My Stats” page on Readup.
Naturally, I had to hover over the month in which I read the most for this screenshot ;)
October of 2020 I “proudly” spent 17.1 hours reading with Readup, and it is clear my reading has its ups and downs, just as any habit does. Fluctuating from about reading about 10 hours a month all the way to 17 hours a month while online.
However, imagine wanting to set a very concrete reading goal for reading online, such as wanting to read 10 hours this upcoming month.
By very easily pulling up your “My Stats” page you can track your progress towards this goal by breaking your reading down into the past week, past month, past year or all time if that tickles your fancy.
Where else can you track your reading time online this accurately?
My Impact with Readup
This is the newest feature which has me absolutley psyched!
Readup has at last launched their Readup Subscription featuring, an entirely new way to reward and compensate the writers directly.
Below is a screenshot of the newly minted “My Impact” page giving a writer-by-writer breakdown of how much your favorite authors will be compensated based on the amount of minutes you have read their work. Each readers impact will be different based upon who and how much they are reading.
This week for example, I have gone on a historical deep dive of the Detroit Techno Scene, and have found multiple articles by this specific author: Ashley Zlatopolsky. So by reading and posting these articles by the author, I am creating a situation in which she has the opportunity to be compensated through the Readup platform for her writing.
Readup is creating a way for online writers to be compensated, not for merely writing click-bait articles, but instead good, legitimate writing. You aren’t going to spend hours-on-end reading a writer, whose writing you don’t enjoy. Start reading their work on Readup, and discover other online writers that deserve to be compensated.
Readup's Big Announcement!
May 3rd, was the day that Readup successfully launched their subscription program, for what was once a free platform.
“Readup is now a fundamentally different organization and technology, way more than just a free, fun utility. Readup is now a marketplace.” - Bill Loundy
Now what about the subscription prices?
On Readup you pay whatever you want to read. As stated above: Readup keeps 5% and distributes the rest to the writers you read.
The other perks that are necessary to further emphasize about Readup is that there is no advertising, no distractions, and no invasion of your privacy!
Using Readup over the past year and a half, has fundamentally changed the way in which I read online. On Readup’s “Leaderboards” page, one is able to track how many articles they have read entirely using Readup. That number for me is 624 articles read in total. That is close to reading an article everyday, since I have been using the platform!
Despite being offered a lifetime free membership for being an “early adopter” of Readup’s technology, I decided to double-down and partake in the new subscription program.
I suggest you do too.
Cheers and happy reading,
Adam Bartley
PARTING NOTE
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