Chute, which keeps track of photos that are destined for the Web and other sharing photo-services, announced that it is launching today at the Launch conference in San Francisco.
Chute synchronizes photos with an online storage service after they are taken. When users launch the Chute application, each new photo appears in the application. Chute users then page through each photo, sharing it or saving it on a remote server as they see fit. The idea is to remind users to share the photos they take so they don&'t end up trapped on a phone and never make it to the web. Users can also set Chute to automatically post photos on Flickr, Twitter, Facebook or any other online service.
Other Chute users receive notifications when new photos appear in their Chute folder. They can view the photos on the web, on an iPhone application or on a desktop application. Users can then download the photos, rate them, favorite them and share them with other Chute users. Chute is also releasing an application programming interface (API) that other companies can use with their photo services, like Instagram and other photo sharing applications.
Chute&'s hook is to make it feel like an inbox and achieve the same satisfaction when the user reaches &''inbox zero&'' after all messages are read. Users page through photos on the iPhone application plow through their entire library until each photo has been uploaded or shared a4‚¬a4¯ reaching an &''inbox zero&'' state for their photos.
But the main appeal is that the photos are automatically uploaded to remote servers a4‚¬a4¯ so Chute users can still get to them if their phone is stolen or broken. It&'s a pretty crowded space and it&'s tough to monetize, said Dave McClure of &''super angel&'' firm 500 Startups. But the service seems to have a solid use case as a backup service, McClure said.
&''Photo zero is a great pitch, but the security is the best aspect,&'' said judge and MailChimp design lead Aarron Walter. &''More people are producing content, I want to back up more stuff.&''
Next Story: Domo: The one Launch presentation you must watch (video) Previous Story: Dave McClure has a a4‚¬Araging bonera4‚¬¯ for phone startup Volta
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Companies: Chute, Instagram
People: Aarron Walter, Dave McClure
Companies: Chute, Instagram
People: Aarron Walter, Dave McClure
Matthew Lynley is VentureBeat's enterprise writer. He graduated from the University of North Carolina, where he studied math and physics, in May 2010. He has reported for Reuters. He currently lives in San Francisco, California. You can reach him at mattl@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @logicalmoron.
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