## 1. User & Account Management

- **User Registration & Login**
    - Standard email/password sign-up or sign-in.
    - OAuth or social logins (currently Are.na offers email-based sign-up with optional Slack login).
- **User Profiles**
    - Basic profile info (name, bio, avatar).
    - Public view of user’s channels.
    - Option to follow other users (or “friends” on Are.na) to see what they’re creating.
- **Membership Tiers**
    - **Free Tier**: Limited number of private channels (public channels are unlimited).
    - **Paid Tier (“Premium”)**: Unlimited private channels, advanced organizational features, or priority support.
- **Notifications Settings**
    - Email notifications for channel collaborations or new followers.
    - Option to turn off notifications for minimal distraction.

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## 2. Channels (Boards / Collections)

- **Creating & Naming Channels**
    
    - Each channel represents a collection of content blocks around a theme.
    - Title and optional description.
    - Channel cover image can be generated from the channel’s contents or uploaded.
- **Privacy Settings**
    
    - **Public Channels**: Visible to anyone on Are.na or shared via a public link.
    - **Private Channels**: Visible only to channel collaborators or by direct invitation.
- **Channel Organization & Display**
    
    - **List View** or **Grid View**: Blocks can be displayed in a linear list or a more visual grid.
    - **Reordering Blocks**: Users can drag-and-drop or reorder blocks manually.
    - **Search & Filtering**: Within a channel, users can search text in blocks and filter by block type (image, link, text, etc.).
- **Collaboration**
    
    - Add collaborators with different permissions (edit or view-only).
    - Multiple users can add/remove blocks, rename the channel, or reorder content.
- **Channel Discovery & Browsing**
    
    - Public channels can appear in Are.na’s “Explore” or search results.
    - Users can follow channels to see updates (new blocks added).

---

## 3. Blocks (Content Units)

- **Block Creation**
    
    - **Supported Types**: Links (URLs), Text (notes), Images, PDFs (files), Videos (linked or uploaded), Audio (linked or uploaded), and more.
    - Each block can have a title and a descriptive note.
- **Editing & Metadata**
    
    - Users can edit the title/description of the block.
    - For link blocks, Are.na often auto-fetches metadata (like a page title or thumbnail).
    - For image/file blocks, Are.na stores the file and provides an in-app viewer.
- **Connecting Blocks Across Channels**
    
    - A single block can “live” in multiple channels—this is a key feature.
    - Users can “connect” an existing block from one channel to another without duplicating it, so any updates are seen everywhere.
- **Block-Level Interactions**
    
    - Commenting on a block (recent addition in some forms of Are.na).
    - View block “source” or original link.
    - Explore “connections”: see which other channels the same block appears in.

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## 4. Linking & Networked Structure

- **Network View / Graph-Like Features**
    
    - Are.na emphasizes the idea that blocks are not siloed. They can link to multiple channels, and channels can link to each other.
    - Some visualizations or third-party apps may display these connections in a graph-like form.
- **Content Discovery via Connections**
    
    - From a block’s detail page, you can see all channels it’s connected to, effectively letting you “hop” from one channel to another, discovering related content.

---

## 5. Search & Explore

- **Global Search**
    
    - Search for blocks, channels, or users across the entire platform.
    - Filters by block type, user, or keywords.
- **Explore / Discover Pages**
    
    - Are.na’s home or “Explore” section highlights interesting public channels and blocks.
    - Users can browse trending or curated collections.

---

## 6. Collaboration & Social Features

- **Collaborative Channels**
    
    - Invite other users to contribute blocks.
    - Group channels for teams or classes to collect shared research.
- **Following & Feeds**
    
    - Follow individual users or specific channels.
    - A minimal feed that shows new blocks added to the channels you follow (Are.na is intentionally minimal—there’s no “like” button or algorithmic feed).
- **Slack Integration**
    
    - Some teams integrate Are.na with Slack to share updates or new blocks automatically.
    - Basic push notifications or auto-posts of channel changes.

---

## 7. Minimal, Ad-Free Design Philosophy

- **No Ads, No Likes**
    
    - The platform is subscription-supported and does not display advertisements.
    - There is no “Like” button or popularity metrics (e.g., follower counts are hidden or minimized).
- **Focus on Content & Research**
    
    - Clean, grid-based or linear layout.
    - Soft color palette, minimal UI elements.
    - Encourages calm, focused interaction.

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## 8. Cross-Platform & API

- **Web Application**
    
    - Main usage is via a responsive web interface that works on desktop or mobile.
- **Mobile Apps**
    
    - Are.na has an official iOS app with basic channel and block management features.
    - (As of now, no official Android app, but the web interface is mobile-friendly.)
- **Browser Extensions**
    
    - Official or third-party bookmarklet/extension to quickly add new blocks (links or images) from around the web.
- **REST API**
    
    - Are.na has a documented API for programmatic access to blocks, channels, and user data.
    - Enables building custom integrations or automations (e.g., hooking up a design workflow).

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## 9. Monetization & Sustainability

- **Subscription Model**
    
    - Free accounts: Limited to a certain number of private blocks/channels. Public channels are unlimited.
    - Paid accounts: Unlimited private channels, possibly higher upload/file size limits.
- **Community Support**
    
    - Are.na fosters a community of artists, researchers, and designers who value the platform’s collaborative features. This community spirit is part of the product’s draw.

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## 10. Common Use Cases

1. **Creative Research/Moodboarding**: Designers or artists gather visual references in a “channel,” connecting images, articles, or files in one place.
2. **Academic or Professional Research**: Teams or study groups collect and annotate reading materials or references (links, PDFs).
3. **Personal Knowledge Base**: Individuals build channels for different topics or ideas, linking them in a network.
4. **Collaborative Brainstorming**: Multiple contributors add blocks to a shared channel, building a collective library of resources.

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### Key Takeaways

1. **“Blocks” + “Channels”**: The core metaphor is quite simple—channels (collections) contain blocks (pieces of content). But the **ability to connect blocks across channels** gives Are.na a unique, networked nature.
2. **Minimal Social Features**: Focus on curation and idea organization, rather than viral growth or engagement metrics.
3. **Privacy Controls**: Clear distinction between public and private channels, with collaboration options.
4. **API & Integrations**: The REST API and potential Slack integration are important for a modern, extensible platform.
5. **Monetization**: Subscription model focusing on private channel limits and storage.

If you’re aiming to replicate Are.na’s functionality, consider which parts are most essential to your project. It might be the “network of blocks” concept, the minimalist approach, or the collaborative curation aspect. Each of these has specific **technical** and **UX** implications—especially around data modeling (e.g., how you store and connect “blocks” to multiple “channels”) and the front-end interface (grid vs. list, drag-and-drop, search filtering, etc.).

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### Next Steps

- **Define Your Core Feature Set**: You don’t necessarily need every Are.na feature from day one. Focus on what matters most—perhaps block connectivity, minimal design, or offline collaboration.
- **Choose Technology Stack**: For a custom build, you might use a headless CMS (e.g., **Strapi**, **Directus**) or a backend+frontend approach with **Node.js**, **Django**, **Rails**, etc.
- **Sketch Data Models**: Figure out how you’ll store “blocks,” “channels,” user permissions, and the relationships between them.
- **Plan for Collaboration & Real-Time**: If real-time collaboration (multiple users editing simultaneously) is needed, consider WebSockets or a real-time database (like Firebase or Supabase).

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By reviewing this comprehensive feature list, you can choose which parts of Are.na’s functionality align with your vision and then tailor your custom build accordingly. Good luck with your project!