Quartz App - A new community-driven news platform and membership product

Hi! I'm from the Quartz team. Today we unveiled a really big new vision for Quartz that's rooted in our amazing community of smart, worldly readers. There are two major components of this vision, both of which we launched today: 1) an app for our community to add their perspectives and expertise to the news; and 2) a membership program that’s an education in the global economy. About the new Quartz app: The core experience is commenting. Pick a story, and optionally add a comment to add value to that story. We think there's an opportunity to create a better space for discussion of the news than, umm, some other platforms. One of the greatest promises of digital journalism is involving readers in a way that improves the journalism itself. "Quartz readers, collectively, know more about this new global economy than we do," we said back in 2012. This app is our biggest attempt to make good on that. We've also recruited a stellar lineup of Quartz Pros, who are leading experts in their field, to add their comments, too. People like Kai-Fu Lee, Kristalina Georgieva, Reshma Saujani, Sallie Krawcheck, Beth Comstock, and lots more. A really Quartzy bunch. Find them in the app. (It's iOS-only for now, Android coming soon.) About the membership program: It's an education product. Each week, we take a key company, industry, or other force of importance to the global economy, and give you a master class on the topic, with new stories published every day for members only. For instance, this week, in our first guide, we are providing an education in the death of cash. We're calling it a membership. Become a member of Quartz. Of course, there is large transactional element: Give us some money ($14.99 a month or $99.99 for the first year), and you get really useful, essential guides to the global economy, and other premium stories. But we also want to make good on what it means to be a "member." For us, it means a deeper, two-way relationship. So we'll interact with members via email, in-person events, conference calls, and more to come.

We're so excited to share our two new launches with the world!

Things have gotten louder and faster since 2012, and it’s more difficult for those trying to work and lead in it to truly understand what’s happening with the depth and clarity that’s needed. The future’s at our doorstep now, but the ways we learn and talk about that future seem to inspire anxiety as much as they do action.

We believe readers deserve better, so we have created a platform that cuts through the noise to inform and inspire the people changing our world. We believe ideas, distilled with expert perspective, are the fuel of innovation. We believe that rigorous journalism can drive human progress. But we also believe the way we get our news needs changing. We’re excited to do that, and hope that you’ll join us.

Pros:

A better way to discuss the news intelligently, without the the shouting matches of current social platforms.

Cons:

None!

Great work!

Enjoy the Quartz web app so looking forward to this, especially the Android version.

Love it!

Pros:

Quick personalized digests

Cons:

Monthly $ is a bit pricey