A demo of the audio story page template
Hey, I'm Gary, and I used to be that guy who'd proudly tell everyone about all the podcasts, audiobooks, and YouTube videos I was consuming. The truth? I was basically collecting digital merit badges without actually learning anything. Sure, I'd get excited about ideas in the moment, but ask me a week later what I learned? Crickets. I was the king of passive consumption, thinking I was getting smarter just by pressing play. Spoiler alert: I wasn't.
That's why I'm building Anno. Because I want to be better every day, and I'm tired of fooling myself with passive learning. I want to be a live player, awake and conscious in my learning journey. Whether it's with my AI assistant or with friends who see each day as an opportunity to learn something new, I want to make every article I read, every "play" button I press, and every page of every book I read count.
We're doing it wrong. We scroll endlessly through social media, binge educational content, maybe even read books, but how much are we actually retaining? When you're information-overloaded and your brain isn't in a conscious state, 95% of what you consume is lost. You're essentially burning your time—I know because I've been there.
Conversely, when you verbalize your learning—even if it's just to an AI assistant that remembers and contextualizes everything—you're already leveling up your learning process. Add social accountability from fellow learners who care about your journey, and you've got a powerful combination. Anno is the tool I wish I had when I was consuming all that content.
The name "Anno" works on multiple levels. In Latin, it means "year" or "era"—pointing to our focus on lifelong learning. It's also related to "annotation," reflecting our mission to help you capture and retain knowledge. And here's the clever part: Anno (a-n-n-o) is just one character away from "nano"—and that's intentional. We're enabling nano-sized social networks— or rather learning networks—or learning circles. For people who don't want to learn solo or with AI alone. These intimate learning circles make sharing more meaningful because learning is vulnerable. It's about admitting what you don't know yet, and that's beautiful. And so it just makes sense to do that with small groups of trusted friends.
Overall, think of Anno as Strava for lifelong learning. Just as Strava tracks your physical journey, we track your learning journey. But instead of miles, we track daily "aha" moments. And instead of competing, we're collaborating and growing together in small, meaningful groups. Because contrary to popular belief and practice, learning isn't—or at least shouldn't be—a solo sport. It should be a team adventure, where every insight shared makes the whole squad smarter.