Social media platforms today often feel like clones of each other, showcasing everything from quick text posts to short video clips where algorithms tend to dictate what you see. In this crowded, homogenous digital space, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get a genuine sense of someone’s personality and interests before hitting that follow button.
Here’s where Shelf steps in. This innovative app allows you to curate a personalized “storefront” of your media tastes, making it easy to connect with others who share your interests in movies, TV shows, books, games, and music. Shelf also offers a way to track your progress while enjoying your favorite book or catching up on the latest binge-worthy series.
“If you look at the internet culture today, people are shifting from just posting selfies to sharing what they’re reading, watching, and enjoying,” says Jad Esber, co-founder and CEO of Koodos Labs, the startup behind Shelf. “Shelf is all about diving deeper into a person’s interests to understand who they are.”
Jad Esber’s journey to creating Shelf is also quite compelling. Growing up, he wrote online poetry anonymously and later worked at YouTube in London from 2015 to 2018. At YouTube, he was instrumental in helping creators grow their audiences and monetize their content. After three years at Google, he pursued academic research on consumer internet trends at Harvard University, which eventually led to the creation of Shelf in an already saturated social media landscape.
The road to developing Shelf wasn’t without its challenges. Esber mentioned that many initial products failed before Shelf finally emerged from these valuable learnings.
So, how does Shelf work?
Available on iOS and Android, the app lets you link your media accounts, such as Apple Music, Goodreads, Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube. Shelf then creates a customizable web page that updates automatically based on your consumption habits. You can also manually add links from other internet services to your virtual shelf, showcasing articles, songs, and more to your followers.
While headquartered in New York, the startup is excited to expand its list of supported services, including Steam for the gaming community. As Esber explains, people have diverse interests beyond just music and movies. By adding support for more categories, Shelf plans to attract a broader user base while deepening engagement for existing users.
You even get to choose your digital shelf’s URL and customize the interface, picking colors and organizing items to reflect your personal style. Going forward, Koodos plans to monetize Shelf by offering premium customization options and possibly leveraging insights from the data it collects, though they emphasize that this data is not used to train AI.
Unlike other apps that rely on APIs to pull data, Shelf employs a more user-centric approach. Users sign into their media accounts directly from the Shelf app, allowing the platform to fetch consumption data directly. This method respects user privacy and data integrity more rigorously.
The technology behind this seamless experience is called DataMovers. Koodos is even exploring partnerships to extend DataMovers to other applications.
Interestingly, Shelf is also experimenting with a private mode for users who prefer to track their own media consumption without sharing it publicly. Esber envisions Shelf becoming a fundamental utility, much like the bookshelf in your living room.
Launched publicly this summer after its beta phase last year, Shelf has already seen its users add half a billion items. While Esber didn’t disclose user numbers, he shared that the number of digital shelves is growing by 40% monthly, with users visiting the app around five times a week.
Koodos has secured $7 million in funding from investors including First Round Capital, M13, Blockchain Capital, and IDEO. Additionally, the startup has garnered support from notable individuals such as the founders of Zynga and VSCO, Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp, and several esteemed academics.
Shelf is not just another social media app; it’s a fresh way to connect over shared interests and dive deeper into what makes each of us unique. Whether you’re an avid reader, a movie buff, or a music lover, Shelf offers a personalized digital space to showcase and discover media that resonates with you.
