Are.na is an online social networking community and creative research platform founded by Charles Broskoski, Daniel Pianetti, Chris Barley, and Chris Sherron. Are.na was built as a successor to hypertext projects like

Ted Nelson Theodor Holm Nelson (born June 17, 1937) is an American pioneer of information technology, philosopher, and sociologist. He coined the terms ''hypertext'' and ''hypermedia'' in 1963 and published them in 1965. Nelson coined the terms ''transcl ...

Xanadu Xanadu may refer to: * Shangdu, the ancient summer capital of Kublai Khan's empire in China * a metaphor for opulence or an idyllic place, based upon Coleridge's description of Shangdu in his poem ''Kubla Khan'' Other places * Xanadu (Titan), ...

, and as an ad-free alternative to social networks like

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

, forgoing "likes," "favorites," or "shares" in its design. Are.na allows users to compile uploaded and web-clipped "blocks" into different "channels," and has been described as a "vehicle for conscious

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

browsing," "playlists, but for ideas," and a "toolkit for assembling new worlds."

Features and community

Are.na is popular amongst designers, artists, and architects including

Cory Arcangel Cory Arcangel (born May 25, 1978) is an American post-conceptual artist who makes work in many different media, including drawing, music, video, performance art, and video game modifications, for which he is best known. Arcangel often uses the ...

Michael Bell-Smith Michael Bell-Smith is an assistant professor of new media at Purchase College, State University of New York. He was an Eyebeam resident in 2002. Examples of his work have been shown at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C ...

, Margaret Lee, Laurel Schwulst,

Emily Segal Emily Segal is an artist, writer, and creative director, born in 1988. She is a founding member of the art collective K-HOLE, a trend forecasting group. She has lectured on branding and consumer culture at the DLD conference, MoMA PS1, the Serpen ...

Martine Syms Martine Syms (born 1988) is an American artist based in Los Angeles who works in publishing, video, installation, and performance. Her work focuses on identity and the portrayal of the self in relation to themes such as feminism and Black cu ...

, Allan Yu, and others who publicly cite Are.na as a tool in their creative process. Are.na's blog, written and curated by Meg Miller, includes essays about Are.na's research and publishing tools as well as noteworthy or "featured" user channels. Are.na-specific terms include: * Blocks: uploaded or web-clipped links, images, text, PDF, video, or other file formats. * Channels: file folders for organizing blocks

Revenue model

Are.na is free to peruse but finances itself by upselling premium accounts with the ability to upload an unlimited number of private blocks. It also sells branded apparel on its store. Unlike Pinterest, Are.na does not finance itself through advertising or user data collection.

History

Co-founder Charles Broskoski began working for

Rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

's John Michael Boling and Sapient Corporation's Stuart Moore in the early 2010s, coding prototypes of a platform which would containerize knowledge into "informational building blocks." Soon after, Broskoski brought artist Damon Zucconi and

K-HOLE K-hole is the feeling of getting a high enough dose of ketamine to experience a state of dissociation. This intense detachment from reality is often a consequence of accidental overconsumption of ketamine; however, some users consciously seek out ...

's Dena Yago onto the project. Broskoski, Yago, and Zucconi eventually split off to found Are.na, soon joined by co-founder Chris Sherron (also of K-HOLE) and Dan Brewster. Broskoski set out to build an open-ended community tool, with Ted Nelson's ''

Computer Lib/Dream Machines ''Computer Lib/Dream Machines'' is a 1974 book by Ted Nelson, printed as a two-front-cover paperback to indicate its " intertwingled" nature. Originally self-published by Nelson, it was republished with a foreword by Stewart Brand in 1987 by Micr ...

'' and hypertext project Xanadu as major influences on Are.na's founding and design.

Collaborations

In 2015, Are.na worked with the Guggenheim Museum on the Åzone Futures Market. The museum's first online exhibition, curated by Troy Conrad Therrien, Åzone Futures Market allowed visitors to the site to invest cåin, a

digital currency Digital currency (digital money, electronic money or electronic currency) is any currency, money, or money-like asset that is primarily managed, stored or exchanged on digital computer systems, especially over the internet. Types of digital cu ...

, in different technology-driven visions of the future. Two years later, Are.na partnered with the

Chicago Architecture Biennial The Chicago Architecture Biennial is an international exhibition of architectural ideas, projects and displays. It seeks "to provide a platform for groundbreaking architectural projects and spatial experiments that demonstrate how creativity and i ...

, building out their blog alongside ''ArchDaily'', ''Archinect'', and ''Architizer''. Are.na has also partnered with the Manhattan Museum of Arts and Design, New Inc. incubator, the Vilém Flusser archives, and artists Carson Salter and David Hilmer Rex.

References

External links

* {{Online social networking Social media companies of the United States Internet properties established in 2014 Image-sharing websites American photography websites