Stoop is looking to provide readers with what CEO Tim Raybould described as a healthier information diet.To do that, its launched an iOS and Android app where you can browse through different newsletters based on category, and when you find one you like, it will direct you to the standard subscription page.
If you provide your Stoop email address, youll then be able to read all your favorite newsletters in the app.The easiest way to describe it is: Its like a podcast app but for newsletters, Raybould said.
Its a big directory of newsletters, and then theres the side where you can consume them.Why newsletters Well, he argued that theyre one of the key ways for publishers to develop a direct relationship with their audience.
Podcasts are another, but he said newsletters are an order of magnitude more important because you can convey more information with the written word and there are lower production costs.That direct relationship is obviously an important one for publishers, particularly as Facebooks shifting priorities have made it clear that they need to establish the right relationship [with] readers, as opposed to renting someone elses audience.
But Raybould said its better for readers too, because youll spend your time on journalism thats designed to provide value, not just attract clicks: You will find you use the newsfeed less and consume more of your content directly from the source.Most content [currently] is distributed through a third party, and that software is choosing what to surface next not based on the quality of the content, but based on whats going to keep people scrolling, he added.
Trusting an algorithm with what youre going to read next is like trusting a nutritionist whos incentivized based on how many chips you eat.So Raybould is a fan of newsletters, but he said the current system is pretty cumbersome.
Theres no one place where you can find new newsletters to read, and you may also hesitate to subscribe to another one because it crowds out your personal inbox.
So Stoop is designed to reduce the friction, making it easy to subscribe to and read as many newsletters as your heart desires.Raybould said the team has already curated a directory of around 650 newsletters (including TechCrunchs own Daily Crunch) and the list continues to grow.
Additional features include a shuffle option to discover new newsletters, plus the ability to share a newsletter with other Stoop users, or to forward it to your personal address.The Stoop app is free, with Raybould hoping to eventually add a premium plan for features like full newsletter archives.
Hes also hoping to collaborate with publishers initially, most publishers will probably treat Stoop readers as just another set of subscribers, but Raybould said the company could provide access to additional analytics and also make signing up easier with the apps instant subscribe option.And the companys ambitions go beyond newsletters.
Raybould said Stoop is the first consumer product from a team with a larger mission to help publishers theyre also working on OpenBundle, a bundled subscription initiative with a planned launch in 2019 or 2020.The overarching thing that is the same is the OpenBundle thesis and the Stoop thesis, he said.
Getting publishers back in the role of delivering content directly to the audience is the antidote to the newsfeed.