f you take away the human element of manually giving context to information, then you’re taking away the moment when a person decides that something is important

At every turn, it exemplifies this sense of generative generosity and thoughtful, user-first design. Built as a place to think, gather, reflect, and build bridges between ideas alongside others doing the same, it’s one of the only digital spaces where my mind feels enriched instead of deadened; where I feel creatively productive instead of... See more

There was a specific moment with myself, John Michael Boling, Damon Zucconi, and Dena Yago, where we had this discussion about whether we would use Are.na if we weren’t being paid to work on it. At that point we agreed that we wouldn’t. In that moment we asked, "What would it have to look like for us to actually be into it?"

For us, it’s been important to foreground what people are doing on Are.na, i.e. the thing . “Organizing” is not the word that I usually use when I describe that action, but when other people make software that is about organizing, a large part of the UI and UX design tends to attempt to remove friction.

For a lot of developers or people who are... See more

Are.na was born out of this desire to create a platform that helped you find people through information, and vice versa. That’s essentially the thing that Are.na does, plus enabling you to learn more about yourself through the information you collect.

That’s why Are.na is so refreshing, and so noteworthy. At every turn, it exemplifies this sense of generative generosity and thoughtful, user-first design. Built as a place to think, gather, reflect, and build bridges between ideas alongside others doing the same, it’s one of the only digital spaces where my mind feels enriched instead of deadened;... See more