TLDR: I’m launching something new, currently in private beta! Introducing Telescope, a platform that helps tastemakers share what they love and get paid for their taste. It’s for everyone who still believes the internet should inspire. Join the waitlist on telescope.fyi and follow us on Instagram + X. More below on the thinking behind Telescope. Thank you!
I miss the internet
If you know me, you know how much the internet has shaped my point of view, from message boards to blogs to chronological feeds. Back when the comments section was free of bots, trolls, and scammers. Discovery felt intentional and strangers felt like long-lost friends. I chose who to pay attention to, who to learn from, and who to follow down the rabbit hole. Honing my taste was personal, and although culture moved slower, it hit harder.
Over time, discovery and inspiration were outsourced to an algorithmic feed I no longer controlled. Never designed to improve discovery or expand taste, algorithms were built for scale, subsequently categorizing us all into predictable buckets and filling them with homogenous content. Originality got sidelined in favor of engagement metrics, and content was no longer made to inspire. It was made to fit.
Algorithms flatten culture
The people who value taste are still out there, but they’re either buried under noise or choosing to gatekeep. Sharing what you love online now comes with a risk: once the algorithm gets hold of it, that special thing can become overexposed, commodified, or even lose its meaning. As Kyle Chayka wrote in the The New Yorker, “Repetition, or scalability, is the enemy of taste.” Widespread exposure can erode the uniqueness of what we cherish. In a landscape where taste is currency, many choose to hold back. Not because they’re selfish, but because they want to protect the integrity of what they love, and because there’s nothing in it for them. That’s the problem.
In response, I’ve been quietly building a solution. It’s called Telescope.
Introducing Telescope
Telescope is a new publishing platform that aims to connect tastemakers and tasteseekers in a meaningful and valuable way. It’s where tastemakers can curate what they love across any category: where to eat, what to watch, what to read, where to go, what to listen to. And get paid for it. Think of it as a curation tool for sharing taste-driven recommendations.
Subscribe to the curators you trust, and that’s it. No ads. No algorithms. No overwhelm. You get what they share, direct, unfiltered, and in one place. Free to browse. Paid to go deep. Just real recommendations from real people. The goal is simple: bring back intentional discovery.
Now, more than ever, taste is everywhere
There’s a reason the conversation around taste is taking center stage. In a world where Generative AI can produce endless recommendations, people still turn to real people. As humans, we infer shared interests and context from those we admire and trust in ways we simply can’t with AI.
This is why I believe we are entering the era of the curation economy, where consumers are willing to pay someone with great taste to help them navigate the abundance of options. Telescope exists to support that shift. It’s built to reward curators for their discernment, with half of all revenue from paid plans shared directly with them.
Zoom in with Telescope
If this vision resonates with you, I encourage you to join the waitlist, follow along on Instagram and X for updates, and help us spread the word by sharing or reposting our content.
For the past year, I’ve been working with a small and mighty team who has helped bring Telescope to life. Thank you so much Nick Doherty, Louis Paquet, Kim Levan, Adrien Vanderpotte, and Alexandre Lepage.
We cannot wait to share Telescope and have you love it as much as we do.
Grateful you’re here. More soon.
/alaa