Although it never graduated from a beta release, the Spool app showed a lot of promise as a kind of Instapaper service which added the ability to DVR online video content for later viewing -- and now, it's gone, just like that.
The creators of Spool sent out emails to users over the weekend, unceremoniously announcing that the service had closed up shop effective immediately -- but not before providing users with an HTML file containing any bookmarks they had saved with the beta service.
"Thank you for using Spool and providing feedback during our beta period," the company wrote via email, which was cross-posted on their blog. "It’s been a pleasure to build Spool for you and we’ve been flattered with the overwhelmingly positive feedback we’ve received. However, after careful consideration, we’ve decided to pursue our vision in a new way. If you were a Spool user, we’ve provided instructions on how to use your bookmarks in another service."
The move came without warning, and while users who only read the email were uncertain as to why the company made the sudden move, those who headed to their website (which now routes straight to the blog) quickly discovered the real reason.
"We are proud to announce that today we will be pursuing our vision as a part of Facebook," a second post on Saturday, July 14 reads. "We are extremely excited to accelerate our vision and help Facebook’s users connect and share with the people in their lives. We wouldn’t be in a position to have this sort of impact without our supporters and the Spool community. Please accept a heartfelt thank you for supporting us and for affording us this opportunity."
For Spool fans bummed out about being orphaned, the folks at Pocket have created a special import tool for porting those Spool bookmarks straight into their app, which should make a fairly smooth transition.
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