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4 Million

December 7th, 2011  •  By Nate

A few moments ago Read It Later passed a major milestone: 4 million registered users.

The support that we’ve seen from our users has always been inspiring and the biggest source of motivation for us as we drive forward.

The Read It Later team has been putting in a lot of long hours these past few months, working hard on a brand new 3.0 version of the entire platform. We couldn’t be more excited to share it with you soon.

Thank you for being a Read It Later user.

 

- Nate, Max, Mark, Steve, Nikki, Matt, and Jon

Posted in News

Unwrapped: How to Use Read It Later with Your New iPhone or iPad

December 1st, 2011  •  By Mark

Did you get a shiny Apple in your stocking this year? If so, Read It Later is the best way to make the most of it: You can save stories, videos, recipes and images onto your new iPhone or iPad, and then come back to it anytime you want: on the couch, at your computer, or at bedtime (just before settling in for a long winter’s nap).

With Read It Later, you get a beautiful reading and viewing experience, and you’ll have access to your content wherever you go, online and offline.

Here are five tips for getting started with Read It Later:

1. Download the Read It Later app in the iTunes App Store

Start by downloading the app here in iTunes. Once Read It Later is on your iPhone or iPad, you’ll be able to access your queue from anywhere.

2. Start saving content: Put the Read It Later bookmarklet in your browser


Add our bookmarklet to your browser (or these extensions for Firefox and Chrome, or follow these instructions for Safari), and you’ll be able save stories, videos and images from your computer. With one click of the button, you can save your content and send it straight to your phone or tablet.

Just go to our bookmarklet page, grab a button, and drag it into your browser’s bookmarks bar…

Then use it to click “read later” on whatever interests you on the web:

• Stories
• Videos
• Recipes
• Images
• Travel content
• Products

3. Use Read It Later inside your favorite apps: Twitter, Flipboard, Zite, Pulse and more

Read It Later works seamlessly with some of the most popular iPhone and iPad apps out there, which means you can click “read it later” from Twitter, Flipboard, Tweetbot, Zite, Pulse and others. Just go into your settings for those apps and add your Read It Later credentials.

4. You’re all set up! Now what kind of content should you save?

Read It Later isn’t just a “bookmarking” service. It takes the content you’ve saved and presents it in a clean, light, readable view. Digging into your favorite magazines, newspapers and blogs has never been easier.

Other content looks great, too: recipes, travel content—and video! When you save links from video services like YouTube & Vimeo, you can stream them right inside the app. You’ll have entertainment queued up whenever you want it.

5. Other goodies that work great with Read It Later

Read It Later also makes it easy to do more with your Queue. Try some of these services:

• IFTTT (“If This, Then That”): This service makes it easy to sync your Google Reader, Twitter favorites, or YouTube and Vimeo favorites with Read It Later. Take a look at their recipes for more great Read It Later ideas.

• Crofflr: Use an e-ink Kindle along with your Android smartphone or tablet? Crofflr is an independent services that helps you sync your Read It Later queue with your Kindle.

• Read Now: Want to access your Queue from a desktop app on your Mac? Give this a try.

***

Coming soon! Get a sneak peek at the new Read It Later 3.0 >

***

Want to set up Read It Later with other devices? Check out our Getting Started guides for:

• Android smartphones and tablets
• Kindle Fire
• E-Ink Kindle
• Your desktop computer and web browser
• Other devices and apps

Posted in News , , , , ,

Unwrapped: How to Use Read It Later with Your New Kindle Fire

December 1st, 2011  •  By Mark

Did someone special get you a Kindle Fire this holiday season? If so, Read It Later is the best way to make the most of it: You can save stories, videos, recipes and images onto your new Fire, and then come back to it anytime and anywhere you want: on the couch, at your computer, or on the airplane ride to your relatives’ house.

With Read It Later, you get a beautiful reading and viewing experience, and you’ll have access to your content wherever you go, online and offline.

Here are five tips for getting started with Read It Later:

1. Download the Read It Later app in the Kindle Fire appstore

Go to the Amazon appstore and download Read It Later. Once it’s on your Kindle Fire, you’ll be able to access your queue from anywhere.

2. Start saving content: Put the Read It Later bookmarklet in your browser

Add our bookmarklet to your regular computer’s browser (or these extensions for Firefox and Chrome), and you’ll be able save stories, videos and images from your computer. With one click of the button, you can save your content and send it straight to your Kindle Fire.

Just go to our bookmarklet page, grab a button, and drag it into your browser’s bookmarks bar…

Then use it to click “read later” on whatever interests you on the web:

• Stories
• Videos
• Recipes
• Images
• Travel content
• Products

3. Use Read It Later inside your favorite apps: Twitter, Flipboard, Zite, Pulse and more

Read It Later works seamlessly with some of the most popular iPhone and iPad apps out there, which means you can click “read it later” from Twitter, Flipboard, Tweetbot, Zite, Pulse and others. Just go into your settings for those apps and add your Read It Later credentials.

4. You’re all set up! Now what kind of content should you save?

Read It Later isn’t just a “bookmarking” service. It takes the content you’ve saved and presents it in a clean, light, readable view. Digging into your favorite magazines, newspapers and blogs has never been easier.

Other content looks great, too: recipes, travel content—and video! When you save links from video services like YouTube & Vimeo, you can stream them right inside the app. You’ll have entertainment queued up whenever you want it.

5. Other goodies that work great with Read It Later

Read It Later also makes it easy to do more with your Queue. Try some of these services:

• IFTTT (“If This, Then That”): This service makes it easy to sync your Google Reader, Twitter favorites, or YouTube and Vimeo favorites with Read It Later. Take a look at their recipes for more great Read It Later ideas.

• Crofflr: Use an E-Ink Kindle along with your Kindle Fire? Crofflr is an independent service that helps you sync your Read It Later queue with your Kindle.

• Read Now: Want to access your Queue from a desktop app on your Mac? Give this a try.

***

Coming soon! Get a sneak peek at the new Read It Later 3.0 >

***

Want to set up Read It Later with other devices? Check out our Getting Started guides for:

• iPhone/iPad
• Android smartphones and tablets
• E-Ink Kindle
• Your desktop computer and web browser
• Other devices and apps

Posted in News , , , , ,

Unwrapped: How to Use Read It Later with Your New Android Smartphone or Tablet

December 1st, 2011  •  By Mark

Did you get a gadget gift this year? If so, Read It Later is the best way to make the most of it: You can save stories, videos, recipes and images onto your new Android tablet or smartphone, and then come back to it anytime you want: on the couch, at your computer, or waiting in line at the mall while you return that unfortunate sweater.

With Read It Later, you get a beautiful reading and viewing experience, and you’ll have access to your content wherever you go, online and offline.

Here are five tips for getting started with Read It Later:

1. Download the Read It Later app for Android

You can download it from the Android Market here. Once Read It Later is on your phone or tablet, you’ll be able to access your queue from anywhere.

2. Start saving content: Put the Read It Later bookmarklet in your browser

Add our bookmarklet to your browser (or these extensions for Firefox and Chrome), and you’ll be able save stories, videos and images from your computer. With one click of the button, you can save your content and send it straight to your phone or tablet.

Just go to our bookmarklet page, grab a button, and drag it into your browser’s bookmarks bar…

Then use it to click “read later” on whatever interests you:
• Stories
• Videos
• Recipes
• Images
• Travel content
• Products

3. Save content from your favorite apps

Read It Later works seamlessly with your Android smartphone or tablet, which means you can click “read it later” from the share menu in any app.

4. You’re all set ! Now what kind of content should you save?

Read It Later isn’t just a “bookmarking” service. It takes the content you’ve saved and presents it in a clean, light, readable view. Digging into your favorite magazines, newspapers and blogs has never been easier.

Other content looks great, too: recipes, travel content—and video! When you save links from video services like YouTube & Vimeo, you can stream  them right inside the app. You’ll have entertainment queued up whenever you want it.

5. Other goodies that work great with Read It Later

Read It Later also makes it easy to do more with your Queue. Try some of these services:

• IFTTT (“If This, Then That”): This service makes it easy to sync your Google Reader, Twitter favorites, or YouTube and Vimeo favorites with Read It Later. Take a look at their recipes for more great Read It Later ideas.

• Crofflr: Use an e-ink Kindle along with your Android smartphone or tablet? Crofflr is an independent services that helps you sync your Read It Later queue with your Kindle.

• Read Now: Want to access your Queue from a desktop app on your Mac? Give this a try.

***

Coming soon! Get a sneak peek at the new Read It Later 3.0 >

***

Want to set up Read It Later with other devices? Check out our Getting Started guides for:

• iPhone/iPad
• Kindle Fire
• E-Ink Kindle
• Your desktop computer and web browser
• Other devices and apps

Posted in News , , ,

Unwrapped: How to Use Read It Later with Your New Computer & Browser

December 1st, 2011  •  By Mark

Did someone special get you a computer this year? Whether you’re a Mac or a PC, Read It Later is the best way to make the most of it: You can save stories, videos, recipes and images right from your browser, and then come back to it anytime you want: at your desk at home or work, on a flight and on the go.

With Read It Later, you get a beautiful reading and viewing experience, and easy access to the content that matters most to you.

Here are five tips for getting started with Read It Later:

1. Sign up for Read It Later to set up your queue

You can get started here by creating a username and password. Once you start adding content, you’ll be able to access your queue (above, and newly redesigned for our upcoming 3.0 release) from any browser or device.

2. Start saving content: Put the Read It Later bookmarklet in your browser

Add our bookmarklet to your browser (you can download extensions for Firefox and Chrome, or follow these instructions for Safari), and you’ll be able save stories, videos and images from your computer. With one click of the button, you can save your content and send it straight to your phone or tablet.

Just go to our bookmarklet page, grab a button, and drag it into your browser’s bookmarks bar…

Then use it to click “read later” on whatever interests you on the web:

• Stories
• Videos
• Recipes
• Images
• Travel content
• Products

3. Use Read It Later on your other devices and inside your favorite apps: Twitter, Flipboard, Zite, Pulse and more

Read It Later works seamlessly with iPhone/iPad, Android and Kindle Fire, to name a few. The same goes for some of the most popular apps for each device: You can add your credentials and click “read it later” from Twitter, Flipboard, Tweetbot, Zite, and Pulse, among others. Just go into your device’s or apps’ settings to add your username and password.

4. You’re all set up! Now what kind of content should you save?

Read It Later isn’t just a “bookmarking” service. It takes the content you’ve saved and presents it in a clean, light, readable view. Digging into your favorite magazines, newspapers and blogs has never been easier.

Other content looks great, too: recipes, travel content—and video! When you save links from video services like YouTube & Vimeo, you can stream them right inside the app. You’ll have entertainment queued up whenever you want it.

5. Other goodies that work great with Read It Later

Read It Later also makes it easy to do more with your Queue. Try some of these services:

• IFTTT (“If This, Then That”): This service makes it easy to sync your Google Reader, Twitter favorites, or YouTube and Vimeo favorites with Read It Later. Take a look at their recipes for more great Read It Later ideas.

• Crofflr: Use an E-Ink Kindle along with your computer? Crofflr is an independent service that helps you sync your Read It Later queue with your Kindle.

• Read Now: Want to access your Queue from a desktop app on your Mac? Give this a try.

***

Coming soon! Get a sneak peek at the new Read It Later 3.0 >

***

Want to set up Read It Later with other devices? Check out our Getting Started guides for:

• iPhone/iPad
• Android smartphones and tablets
• Kindle Fire
• E-Ink Kindle
• Other devices and apps

Posted in News , , , , , , ,

Unwrapped: How to Use Read It Later with Your E-Ink Kindle

December 1st, 2011  •  By Mark

Did you get a new E-Ink Kindle from someone special this holiday season? If so, Read It Later can help you make the most of it: Save stories from anywhere on the web, then come back to your reading list anytime you want: relaxing on the couch, at your computer, or on the go.

Read It Later plans to add direct support for E-Ink Kindle devices in the near future. But in the meantime, we’ve scouted out some services that can help you send your saved Read It Later stories directly to your Kindle.

Here are some tips for getting started:

1. Sign up for Read It Later to set up your queue

You can get started here by creating a username and password.

2. Start saving content: Put the Read It Later bookmarklet in your browser


Add our bookmarklet to your browser (or these extensions for Firefox and Chrome, or follow these instructions for Safari), and you’ll be able save stories, videos and images from your computer. With one click of the button, you can save your content and send it straight to your phone or tablet.

Just go to our bookmarklet page, grab a button, and drag it into your browser’s bookmarks bar…

Then use it to click “read later” on whatever interests you on the web:

• Stories
• Videos
• Recipes
• Images
• Travel content
• Products

3. Set up your Kindle to receive personal documents

With your E-Ink Kindle, you’ll first want to set it up so that you can receive an emailed digest of personal documents (in this case, you’ll want to set it up so your Read It Later queue is emailed as a digest). Here are some tips from Amazon for setting up your Kindle. (Some fees from Amazon may also apply.)

The next step is to sign up for a service that connects your Read It Later queue with your Kindle digest. One independent service, called Crofflr, connects your RIL account to your E-Ink Kindle, for a one-time fee of $5. Another service, called Calibre, can help you sync your content and format ebooks for reading.

(Note: Crofflr and Calibre are not affiliated with Read It Later. But please let us know what you think of these services, or others that you find.)

4. Use Read It Later inside your favorite mobile and tablet apps: Twitter, Flipboard, Zite, Pulse and more


Once you’ve set up your Kindle, you can also use Read It Later on your other smartphones and tablets. It works seamlessly with some of the most popular apps out there, which means you can click “read it later” from Twitter, Flipboard, Tweetbot, Zite, Pulse and others. Just go into your settings for those apps and add your Read It Later credentials.

5. Other goodies that work great with Read It Later

Read It Later also makes it easy to do more with your Queue. Try some of these services:

• IFTTT (“If This, Then That”): This service makes it easy to sync your Google Reader, Twitter favorites, or YouTube and Vimeo favorites with Read It Later. Take a look at their recipes for more great Read It Later ideas.

• Read Now: Want to access your Queue from a desktop app on your Mac? Give this a try.

***

Coming soon! Get a sneak peek at the new Read It Later 3.0 >

***

Want to set up Read It Later with other devices? Check out our Getting Started guides for:

• iPhone/iPad
• Android smartphones and tablets
• Kindle Fire
• Your desktop computer and web browser
• Other devices and apps

Posted in News , , , , , ,

Updates to Read It Later iPhone/iPad and Firefox

September 22nd, 2011  •  By Nate

We’re happy to announce that updates were released this week for two of our major platforms:

Let’s take a look at each in turn…

Read It Later for iOS Version 2.4.3

(Note: 2.4.3 fixes the black screen / bad 2.4.2 update from yesterday. Thanks to Apple for the quick review!)

This release is mainly around ensuring compatibility with the upcoming release of iOS 5, but we snuck in a few new features (and fixed a bunch of bugs!):

New features:

  • View images and embedded video in Article View (Free version)
  • Tweet attribution added to Article View (Free version)
  • Share menu updated to support Things task management app
  • Share menu updated to allow you to report bad article views directly from the app
  • Deleting now syncs throughout Read It Later

Fixed:

  • iOS5 compatibility updates
  • Syncing issues
  • Instance where reading position was forgotten
  • Additional bug fixes and enhancements

Note: if you are using the Free version of the app, you’ll need to re-download your previously saved articles in order to view the new images and videos in Article View. Going forward, images and videos will be added automatically.

Read It Later Pro
Read It Later Free

Read It Later for Firefox Version 2.1.2

With this release, Read It Later is now compatible with Firefox 7 (the current beta version). We also fixed some other minor bugs including fixing the toolbar button height.

Read It Later for Firefox

Posted in News

Sneak Peek: the new Read It Later

September 15th, 2011  •  By Nate

In our last blog post, we told you how Read It Later was growing – in fact, last week we welcomed our 6th team member (hi Steve!) After moving into our office last month, we’ve been working hard on a ton of new projects that will begin appearing over the next few weeks and months.

Ultimately, our goal is to revolutionize how people consume web content (articles, videos, and more). Today, we’re excited to announce the first piece. We’ve released an early preview of Read It Later’s new web app to all users. You can begin using the new app immediately to get a look at the direction we’re headed and a number of the new features that are coming to the rest of the platform soon.

Try the preview at: http://getpocket.com/a/

A Brand New Experience

The biggest change you’ll see upon loading the Read It Later preview is a brand new view that comes alive with pictures and excerpts from the articles you’ve saved to your queue. We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how we can create the best experience for consuming all the great content you discover across the web. The new tile view allows your items to stand out and speak for themselves, making it easier and more enjoyable to find the right content when you want it.

There is so much new in this release that we cannot list everything but here are the biggest updates:

Article, Video, and Image Filtering

You can now see all of the videos you have saved in your queue with a single click. Filter to see only articles, videos or images.


Favorites

You can now favorite items that you’ve really enjoyed and would like to keep track of later. Simply click the Favorite star on an item and your content will be saved in a new, dedicated Favorites section for easy reference.


Bulk Edit

Sometimes you’ve just gotta clean up your list. We’ve made it really easy to take action on a bunch of items at once.  Archive, delete, favorite, or tag multiple items with just a few clicks in the new bulk edit mode.


Deleting

Let’s face it, by the time you get to an article, sometimes it may no longer be relevant or interesting. Instead of cluttering your Archive with items you didn’t actually read, you can simply delete them from your list.

So Much More

There really is so much new in this app that you’re just going to have to try it!

Try the preview at: http://getpocket.com/a/

This is just a preview and we’d love to have your feedback!

Posted in News

From Me to We

July 26th, 2011  •  By Nate

One night during the summer of 2007, I sat down at my computer and tried to solve a problem. I was constantly trying to move articles and video from work to home but was failing to find an efficient method to do so. I was emailing myself links and keeping tons of tabs open in my browser and it just wasn’t working. Instead, I decided to build an extension for my browser that could keep track of my content.

What I built was called Read It Later.

Turns out, this was a problem that a lot of other people had too. Today, four years later, Read It Later has been used by over 3.5 million people. These people use it to save millions of links every week. They read on every browser and mobile platform and have saved over 100 million articles from the 256 applications that integrate Read It Later.

Read It Later grew not because it was made by a big company or a team with a lot of money or someone with connections in the tech industry. It grew because it was a product people loved and because it had a dedicated team who poured everything they had into building it. Surprisingly enough, even after all those years, that team was just one guy: me.

As you may have noticed, in all of my blog, Twitter, and support posts, I always used the word “I” when referring to the company. I’ve always done this because Read It Later was just me.

Read It Later has been an enormous amount of work for one person. Even though I’ve been lucky to have some very generous individuals lend their time and advice through the years, I’ve been the man behind the curtain building apps and extensions, programming, designing, going to meetings, answering calls, handling support, making decisions, and fighting through every minute of server downtime.

However, even as the main source of Read It Later’s progress, I ultimately became the biggest roadblock.

As the product has grown, it had become increasingly difficult to continue to do all of this on my own. I had a long roadmap and I wasn’t moving as fast as I (or the users) wanted. All the while, bigger companies made offers and others made similar products. Despite all of these attempts, it was incredibly clear that none of these other companies saw what I saw.

If I wanted to take Read It Later where I wanted, I was no longer going to be able to do it on my own.

Even though as a user you may not have seen a ton of new product releases or features in the past few months, I’ve been working non-stop on the biggest upgrade in the history of Read It Later: growing the company.

I’m thrilled to announce today that Read It Later has not only grown from a team of 1 to a team of 5 but has also raised $2.5 million in funding from Foundation Capital, Baseline Ventures, Founder Collective, Google Ventures, and a number of other insanely supportive investors.

After many months of putting this together, the team and I will be moving into our first office space in downtown San Francisco next week and will begin rapidly moving through the roadmap I had been working so hard to focus on.

Today is the last post I’ll be writing as “I.”  There is no greater feeling than having others believe in something you created and want to make it their own. I am honored and extraordinarily proud to stand alongside the incredibly smart and talented team of peers and investors that now make up Read It Later.

Read It Later is no longer “me,” but has become “we” and we could not be more excited to show you what we have planned.

- Nate

P.S. Want to be part of the “we?”  We’re looking for #6, 7, and 8 at Read It Later.

Posted in News

Read It Later Now a Part of 250+ Apps

July 20th, 2011  •  By Nate

This week Read It Later passed a major milestone.  You can now use Read It Later with over 250 applications across every major platform.

Part of Read It Later’s mission is to be accessible no matter where you are, what device your using, or even what application you’re in.  To this end, RIL provides an open API that makes it easy for other developers to push and pull RIL data into their own applications.  Over 4,500 developer projects have been created on the API: some private, 256 now public, and a ton of really cool projects under active development.

If you have not already, pore over Read It Later’s App Directory to find applications that help you get the most out of your Read It Later experience.  There are apps for your computer, phone, tablet, Kindle, and more.

Explore all 250 Apps in the App Directory

Some Popular Categories

News

Some of the most useful applications that support RIL are news readers.  These apps are all fantastic tools for discovering new content and all have the option to save articles directly into your reading list.  Some, like Zite, can even leverage your existing list to learn the types of content you like!

View all News apps

Twitter

Did you know that as you scan through your Twitter stream, most Twitter apps allow you to save the links you come across right to your Read It Later list?

View all Twitter apps

Mobile

Find apps on every platform from iPhone, iPad, Android, WebOS, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, and Symbian.

Desktop

Outside of apps for every major browser like Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and Safari, you can even find apps for your desktop!

A Lot More…

Explore all 250 Apps in the App Directory

Posted in News

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