February 27, 2022 Newsletter #15.0

Good Afternoon Everyone,

This newsletter will be a bit different this week. We are going to dive into our website and app, and the details around them. We will continue to post on Instagram for the news, but as you can tell this is a huge week for us and a long time coming. We appreciate all your support. For the past 7+ years we have been building to this point and are excited to see it come to life. Thank you for staying with us. 

So with that, let's dive in:

Website

Infrastructure. Content. Details.

The website will always be completely free. Any article that we write and come out with as Atlas News will be open, free to read, and on the website. We, in the past, were only capable of posting within certain limits and restrictions on Instagram. There are post frequency limits, word limits, content restrictions, and obviously censorship. The website will allow us to post as much as we want, with absolutely 0 restrictions. Infrastructure:Part of this benefit and move is that we have purchased our own servers. Quite literally no one can take us down now. The content that we produce is 100% hosted and stored on our servers. Which will allow us to do two things: First it will allow us to handle the traffic ourselves and allow us to manage our own data and content. It does not have to go through a filter process, and our readers (you) aren't managed by a separate platform or hosting server. At the deep, root DNA, Atlas News will be handled by Atlas News. And Secondly, this allows us to pump out as much content as we can, with as much interaction between the community as we can handle. This also allows us to manage our own data. This means that every reader, story, information, and detail about us as a News Organization and you as a reader is completely protected upon our own servers. There is no shared IP address, no shared data, no shared link or webhooks, nothing. The ultimate protection for readers and for us as a company. And to answer your question–no, we will never sell data ever. Stupid.Content:The most important part is how our content is managed, written, and published. Atlas (the actual writer) is our Chief Editor. Not just the name Atlas News, but Atlas himself. Anything that gets published, written or posted on the website goes through him. He is the Editor in Chief and is the gatekeeper of our content. As we expand and bring on more writers, he will be the final say. As Atlas News, we obviously want to expand, put journalists on the line, in the rooms, and at the scenes of the news you read. The way that Atlas is structured is that not a single post can be posted without his approval, his say-so, and in the same fashion that we have run for the past 7+ years on Instagram. No matter what the story is, you can bet it will be Unbiased & Unfiltered. An additional feature is our Partner Articles. Pages on Instagram all over the world that post in the same style and niche we do. You follow them, you know who they are and we have featured them in our Newsletters before, and now they are coming with us to the Website. We are creating a space on our website (and app) that allows these pages to post content you are interested in. Want specific news over Mexican Cartels or Middle Eastern Policy from your favorite pages? They will be there. Unrestricted, Unfiltered & Unbiased, and all free form. Details:The next question is, "great sounds good, will there be ads?". This is something we have talked about for countless hours and settled on this: Yes but in moderation. As a company, we want to expand and grow Atlas News to a household name and a go-to source for news that people want with in-house journalists. Monetization is how we are able to do that. What we absolutely do not want is to cluster the website so much with ads that you can't even read and our quality goes down. Never will there be an in-article ad (where you are scrolling and midway through an ad banner shows up), and what we are sticking with is side article ads and homepage ads in a minimal way. This allows us to also control the ads that we show, and again with two style of ads: Google Populated ads with Pixel tracked targeting and our own partner ads. 1. Pixel tracked ad means that any of the ads at you get will be based on your actual web-data and interests. We wont leave the throttle open to get ads that are so stupid you click just to make fun of that ad. They will be ads that are targeted to your interest to the ad is quality based as well. Something you actually care about. 2. Partner ads is when we find a company that we like and think fits our brand and target market. A company that we feel if we put on the website, most of you (our readers) would actually like and be interested in. We manually place the ad so its as if we are saying "hey check this out".We care about our content remaining top-level and readership being top quality. We don't want to sell out to ads, diminish our content, or stop being who we have been. Our biggest strength is you: the reader. We want to grow without becoming the trash news company that "used to be so cool". We are 100% self owned and operated and to stay that way, we obviously need to fund our project. Which leads us to the app.

APP

Design. Features. App.

First we start by saying the App is in BETA testing until April 1. The app will be completely free for everyone as we test the bugs and work out the details. It goes without saying that building an app is unreal expensive and intensive. There are more features we will roll out as time comes and will consistently be working on the app every day to make it better and better. It's finally here. An app that we all have been waiting 7+ years for. Design:The app will be broken down into tabs like any other app. To start, there will be these tabs:

• Latest News

  • Where all the latest news that we post is live at, in chronological order. The first section will be all stories regardless of who in order. With sections broken down by specific categories.

• Categories

  • Where you can filter and find specific stories and articles. This where every single category we have will live, including parter articles. If there is a specific topic or page that you want to read about, filter there and read their content and only that topic content in order.

• Favorites

  • Any article you want to save and read later, check updated or share. Much like breaking news in one area or topic, if there are updates and details about that story breaking every hour, you can save that story and check for updates as often as you want.

• REDACTED

  • Yes actually. We will have 5 tabs on the app, and at launch only 4 will be active. We are still working behind the scenes to come out with our 4th tab. We can't speak on what it will be or give details but this is what makes the app the app, and separates itself from the website.

• Profile.

  • The obvious. This is where you can edit your notifications, turn on dark-mode, read about our future projects, ect. This is straight forward.

The design we want to keep straightforward and to the point. Easy to use, user-friendly and keeping the heart of the app at the core: the news. Features:

There are multiple features within the app that you will see when you join. Its obvious to say that we will consistently be adding features as time goes on from the feedback we get. One of the biggest features we are looking forward to, and will come at a later date within the BETA, is a comment section. This is single handily the #1 feature requested and one that we want to harp on. A comment section is something we want to offer that not really any other news app focuses on. The comment section will release a couple of weeks into the BETA for a few reasons. First off we need to test the user-server side so our app can handle the traffic. With tens-of-thousands of users on the app at any given time, there are throttle adjustments and content management details we need to solidify before we turn on comment sections. That way when we do roll it out, it functions and works. Think laying the foundation and then building the house and rooms. The comment section will be Reddit-style. Likes, upvotes, downvotes, shares, replies, gifts, and the rest. Compared to other News websites and apps, there are pretty bland. Our core readers and your engagement on each story is what makes Atlas what is it, and we are rolling that into the app and putting it on steroids. Furthermore, comments will not be on the website. Part of what makes the app exclusive is that you can only comment on the app. The website will be strictly story and information-based, while the app will have extra features like comments, saved posts and our 4th tab, which we will release also at a later date. Safe to say the app is THE place for our community to live away from censorship, filters, and restrictions. The app will have push notifications for when a story breaks or a new development arises.App:

As we said, the app will be free for the BETA stage that we are in. Anyone can download, create an account and use the app for 30 days for free and won't be charged at all until after our BETA is finished. The app will be $1.99/week (charged as you all requested at $7.96/month). It will be charged at one time but is broken down at that price per week. We debated on whether to charge or not, why we would or would not and settled on that finally. The app will have absolutely ZERO ads. Not a single ad on there to restrict reading or interrupt stories. Quality is our absolute #1 goal and this way we can make sure the quality stays intact. Our news and articles are completely raw and untouched.This will allow Atlas to grow, stay self-funded, and expand our reach. Journalists on the scenes as they break, in the rooms where the conversations are happening and delivered straight to you with no distractions or outside influence. This allows us to also have our community protected and the quality high. No random bots, troll accounts, or people looking to tank our community. No one-off person trying to pop in on a free app and tank the content with a terrible take. The only people who use the app are readers who are truly dedicated to the news and want to be involved. We have developed Atlas as a company over 7+ years, spent countless hours and thousands of $$ to make this possible. Its finally here. 

Thank you

We can not thank you enough for supporting us. We have done this for years out of passion and you have been there every step of the way. Every single post, every single story, every single day, you have shared our account and helped us grow to where we are now. It has taken us 7+ years to get here and we look forward to the next 70+ years.All with you. Thank you. 

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