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Instant Articles and the future without Apps

by Mar 28, 2016Content Marketing, Marketing, Marketing Trends

When the iPhone was launched alongside the App store, many wondered about the future of the Internet. Would Apps be the Web killer? While apps have been great in raising the bar on user experience for usability and speed of content delivery, they haven’t taken over, but they have changed what we expect in the user experience. The race to be the top content layer or gateway is on and the big three of Apple, Google and Facebook are leading the way. One part of the equation is Instant Articles. Why is it a big deal? These major platforms are now delivering content in new and innovative ways with Instant Articles, AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) and Apple News for WordPress. The aim is to take more control and ownership over content and to deliver it instantly. Both lessons learned from our experiences with Apps. The distribution giant’s aim is about delivering ads faster and more accurately. It’s a lot about search. Apple, Google and Facebook all have their own search engines that not only index all their apps content but also the apps-related web content. Facebook, arguably has the edge with its unique and highly detailed user content as well. More importantly, though the race is on to deliver the best context for the user experience either through web or application. Now won’t that be great to see.

The battle between the three big publishers leaves content marketers scrambling to keep up. While it’s still relatively early days we are seeing a lot of fast development and iteration. Our task now is to be aware, look, learn and apply as and where necessary.

This article presents a good overview of what Accelerated pages are and why we need them. It is good news for all of us as it will give a better customer experience, especially while surfing the net on our mobile devices.

https://www.business2community.com/digital-marketing/google-accelerated-mobile-pages-amp-future-mobile-web-01490610Google Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) and the Future of Mobile Web – Business 2 Community If you’ve ever seriously considered chucking your phone at a wall, then you’re probably familiar with the problem: slow mobile experiences are irrationally frustrating and slow mobile web experiences rank among the worst of all. Facebook Instant, Apple …

Taking a little look behind the reasoning and how we should all gain from better ad viewing and customisation… as long as marketers and publishers get a better cut of the pie.

Google wants to help publishers improve ad viewability with its Accelerated Mobile Pages – MuMbrella Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), which was first announced last October, will allow local publishers, including Ninemsn and Fairfax Media, to cache content on Google’s servers, which means users around the world should see pages upload to their devices …BusinessKoreaSearch Engine JournalBusiness 2 Community

This is a more detailed, technical look at Accelerated pages and how to get started. It’s interesting to note that both Apple and Facebook are producing wordpress plugins and integrations which is smart given that wordpress powers 25% of the world’s websites and content. What better way for getting this content served through their platforms.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rahis-saifi/how-to-get-started-with-a_b_9496024.htmlHow To Get Started With Accelerated Mobile Pages – Huffington Post They restrict the ad revenues many publishers depend upon to keep their sites alive. Developed by Google, Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is an open source method of filling that void. It allows publishers to simultaneously serve up ads and content …NetNewsCheck.com

Content distribution giants like Facebook, Google, and Apple are delivering content to mobile users in new and innovative ways, leaving content publishers scrambling to keep up. Publishers have to be at the leading edge of change as the web evolves to avoid losing viewership to more nimble competitors while simultaneously publishing the best content possible. WordPress is the most popular content publishing platform on the web, and the WordPress community has proven itself wonderfully adept at accommodating the constant evolutionary demands that are thrown at it.

Always a clear read from the team at WPMU. This is a solid discussion comparing the 3 slugging it out and their different approaches to the same end.

Facebook Instant Articles vs AMP vs Apple News for WordPress

Content distribution giants like Facebook, Google, and Apple are delivering content to mobile users in new and innovative ways, leaving content publishers scrambling to keep up. Publishers have to be at the leading edge of change as the web evolves to avoid losing viewership to more nimble competitors while simultaneously publishing the best content possible. WordPress is the most popular content publishing platform on the web, and the WordPress community has proven itself wonderfully adept at accommodating the constant evolutionary demands that are thrown at it. Facebook Instant Articles vs AMP vs Apple News for WordPress – WPMU DEV

https://iconinnovations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/giphy.gifThere’s a clear initiative and goal by the big 3 players here to lead in content ownership and distribution. It’s still early days and much of this is still in beta and not serving content in the best way. We are also unsure how or even how much we will benefit and content producers. Nor is it clear how to adopt and deploy the strategies. We do know we need to get on board and that there will be lots of new distribution options. Keeping positive this should mean greater distribution to a wider audience. Given that many of the large publishing houses are already supporting, endorsing and experimenting with these platforms indicates they would believe the same.

With leading platforms like Google, Twitter, Pinterest, Linked, and more already onboard, the AMP format is already a major player in the mobile optimization game. If you publish blog posts or news articles on a regular basis, generating AMP articles isn’t really optional any longer. You need to get started configuring your website to generate AMP articles that validate successfully. Thankfully, there are already a few plugins in the official WordPress Plugin Directory that make the process pretty straightforward. Getting Started with AMP Articles for WordPress

The video below is just one example of a developer already in this space. Automatic is currently working with facebook as well which will be great for all of us using jetpack.

If you would like a more detailed explanation and guides for setting up AMP read this article: AMP Project: Will It Make Your Sites Faster?

As you can see we are in a perfect storm with all the major players actively seeking ways to grab the initiative. The great news is we all have a say simply by using and applying the tools and resources that work best for us. If we like it we’ll us it. Often this comes about by understanding the needs, the pains of the market and solving it. I for one am looking forward to an experience of an uncluttered app minefield on my phone, of not remembering which app or which service does what or what part of some task better than others.

The Future is Without Apps

How we may soon no longer need to install apps with help from Google and Surprisingly: Apple.

With Google streaming apps to your phone and Apple nudging developers to store parts of their apps in the cloud, we may have just entered the beginning of a future where installation becomes obsolete and the border between “website” and “native app” is blurred. This is a future without apps. And it’s wonderful. The Future is Without Apps

What do you think? Please leave a comment and join the discussion. How would you like your online experience to look and feel?

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