"Matter: Revolutionizing Reading and Building Meaningful Connections"

"Matter: Revolutionizing Reading and Building Meaningful Connections"

Introduction:
In the fast-paced world of content consumption, it can be challenging to find high-quality and insightful pieces that resonate with our interests and challenge our perspectives. Ben Springwater and Robert Mackenzie, who met during their time at Nextdoor, recognized this need for a better reading experience. Although their initial project to improve the visibility of indie authors did not materialize, they channeled their shared love for reading and frustration with the limitations of current reading stacks into the creation of Matter.

The Evolution of Content Consumption:
One common observation about previous generation content consumption and discovery apps is that they were primarily centered around RSS feeds. While this approach highlighted the "where" of content, it overlooked the more crucial aspect of "who" - the people behind the content. As a result, these apps struggled to achieve enduring success. However, a new contender was rising as a platform for content - email. It provided a home for content consumption but lacked the necessary mechanics for discovering and retaining information effectively.

Addressing the Reading Experience:
Matter aimed to tackle two fundamental questions: how we read and what we read. To achieve this, Matter established a network of readers who could curate content and provide social context around their recommendations. They tested their idea by creating a roundup newsletter that featured content recommendations from public thinkers on Twitter. This approach revealed that the best content on the internet was not necessarily written recently, highlighting the importance of timeless pieces.

The Power of Recommendations:
Trustworthy recommendations play a crucial role in improving our content filters and information diets. With an overwhelming amount of content available, people often save more than they can consume. This insight led Matter to develop their highly-curated recommendations feed, which resonated most with their users. By leveraging an interest graph, Matter allowed users to follow authors across the web rather than specific publications, broadening their exposure to diverse perspectives.

Building a Community:
To build a strong user base, Matter sought out power readers who were actively engaged in the world of ideas and community-oriented. They found their early adopters in three large online communities: the Interintellect, Progress Studies, and The Long Now Foundation. By collaborating with the leaders of these communities, Matter provided an exclusive benefit to their members - early access to valuable content and the opportunity to shape the product and recommendations engine.

Unique Insights and Features:
Matter introduced innovative features that set it apart from traditional content consumption platforms. One such feature is the social graph of highlights, which allows users to follow and discover what people they admire find interesting. While measuring quality can be challenging, Matter focuses on insights, information density, and the author as proxies for high-quality pieces. The ultimate success for Matter lies in surfacing insightful content from obscure sources that challenges users' worldviews and expands their thinking.

Actionable Advice:

1. Embrace the "who" of content: When seeking out content, prioritize recommendations from people you trust and admire rather than relying solely on publications or algorithms.

2. Curate your feed of authors: Follow authors across the web to ensure a diverse range of perspectives and interests in your content consumption.

3. Challenge your comfort zone: Seek out content that is tangential to your core interests and challenges your worldview. This can lead to personal growth and a more well-rounded understanding of various topics.

Conclusion:
Matter has revolutionized the reading experience by prioritizing the "who" over the "where" of content consumption. By building a community of power readers and leveraging their recommendations, Matter has created a platform that surfaces insightful and thought-provoking content from diverse sources. Through their unique insights and features, Matter encourages users to expand their reading horizons and challenge their worldviews. By embracing these principles and taking actionable steps to curate our content consumption, we can enhance our reading experience and foster a more meaningful connection with the ideas that matter most to us.