Circa Promises Different, ‘Beautiful’ News Reading Experience

A new startup backed by the founders of I Can Has Cheezburger and geo-location app service SimpleGeo aims to change the way we read news.

Details about Circa — which plans to roll out within the next six months — have been scarce, but former SimpleGeo founder Matt Galligan, who left the company in August to pursue new interests, told Mashable that the startup will rethink how news is distributed and build a new model from the ground up.

“We think that there is room for improvement in how news is written, distributed and read, and we’re trying to tackle that challenge,” Galligan told Mashable. “We’re simply trying to create the news experience that we would want to use every single day.’

The concept started with Galligan and Cheezburger founder Ben Huh – who will serve as a company adviser — creating what they call the “Moby Dick Project.”

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“The idea was that news needs to be reinvented,” Galligan said. “We’ve now expanded on the initial vision and it’s become much deeper. We aim to create the best news experience by optimizing for truths, encouraging diversity and empowering the readers.”

He wouldn’t elaborate on how the site would differ from others, but he said it will begin its focus on headline news and politics and will expand beyond that in the future. Galligan also noted that there will be an emphasis on the look and layout of the site.

“We’re placing a lot of focus on beautiful design,” Galligan said. “Layout, typography and user experience are all paramount in our vision. We believe that the best possible news experience needs to be presented in a very beautiful way and will be more compelling as a result.”

Although the site isn’t up and running just yet, it’s taking invitation requests now.

“People will get approved to enter the site as soon as we have a minimally-viable product able to offer them,” Galligan said. “We’re doing an invite-only beta to get feedback on the product and try to build the best news experience possible.”

Circa’s goal in the next few years? “We hope we have inspired users to see news differently than they see it today.”

Are you satisfied with the way news is distributed today? Do you think readers are ready for a new model? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.