Image: Time Magazine
When Apple's iPad launched, news outlets rushed to create special versions of themselves for the hot gadget.
Now, the same thing may be about to happen with Facebook.
According to Forbes, about 15 news outlets are in discussions to create special "app" versions of their sites that would appear entirely within Facebook. The special editions could launch by September.
The deal would give publishers like CNN, The Washington Post, and The Daily more direct access to Facebook's 750 million users, and would help Facebook keep users at the site longer, instead of clicking away to these publishers' Web sites whenever users shared an interesting link or news story.
The move especially makes sense if Facebook is building its own HTML5-based mobile platform, which would give Facebook developers a way to sell and distribute "apps" through Facebook on any mobile phone, rather than having to go through the Apple App Store, Android Market, and other gadget-specific stores.
A lot of publishers hated Apple's plan to take 30% of their subscription revenue, and while Apple eventually backed down, it makes sense for publishers to get on board with multiple platforms to make sure there's plenty of competition.
Google may be working on a similar news platform, according to the report, although it's not clear how it would differ from Google News.
Via BisinessInsider
Luxury News / Golden Choice by Lux Creative International
