Welcoming Storehouse
By Om Malik, January 16, 2014
The iPad is nearly four years old, and in the time it has been around, it has changed our conceptions of what media is and what it means to consume content. We saw the first example of the iPad as a platform of creativity with Al Gore’s Our Choice app; it showed the possibilities of what could happen if creative minds had an opportunity.
Imagine the future shown by that app to today. We are still thinking about creating content that is very text-centric and desktop web browser-centric. What Our Choice did was show us the possibilities of immersing ourselves in content in new, informative and fun ways. New kinds of data-rich stories could be told, thanks to swipe, swivel and touch. Photos and videos could be a vital part of the narrative.
That’s what new True portfolio company Storehouse is enabling people—everyone—to do. National Geographic photographers telling stories of epic adventures. Fashion models telling behind-the-scenes stories of a fashion shoot. A young mother telling stories of her baby’s first step. The idea behind Storehouse is sometimes you don’t need a lot of words to tell a great story. All you need are moments that add up, a few photos and videos, and a great storytelling tool.
Founders Mark Kawano and Tim Donnelly are believers in using the visual medium, specifically one completely integrated into the possibilities provided by tablets. Storehouse works because it is for the iPad. It is for the touch, the eyes, for immersing yourself in the content, for getting lost in the story. You don’t need thousands of words; you just need a few great pictures. And everyone can tell their story. You don’t need to be famous. It could be anything. There are stories all around us; our lives are full of stories, and storehouse is the place to tell them.
We are excited by Mark’s and Tim’s vision of storytelling. As a writer, there are few ideas eschewing words that I can get behind. Storehouse is one of them. It truly is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
Mark and Tim, welcome to True Ventures. We are so happy to be a part of your story.
Read more about Storehouse in TechCrunch and on the Storehouse blog.