Facebook Instant Articles: Fish Where the Fish Are — Shelly Palmer
▻http://www.shellypalmer.com/spb/facebook-instant-articles-fish-where-the-fish-are
I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Just to be clear, the 1st Amendment applies to what words and ideas the government can allow and prohibit; it says nothing about nor does it apply to what private individuals or publicly traded companies can say.
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There is a real danger. Publishers have been extremely bad at creating emotionally satisfying ways to consume written and graphical content online – especially on mobile devices. Platforms are either too gimmicky or too plain or too precious or too boring. Facebook Instant Articles raises the bar. Instant means instant. There is no lag time between the time you click and when you see the content. This new platform takes the concept of “on demand” very seriously – publishers will have to as well.
Facebook knows it’s the most popular house party on the mobile web and Instant Articles is clearly designed to keep you there. But even more importantly, Instant Articles will help Facebook standardize what happens when you click a link - one of the few user experiences it doesn’t already control.
▻http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54022945e4b02005531a9c9e/t/55579204e4b0e3eb2cf2d59f/1431802372817.jpg
Could Facebook Really Replace the Internet?
No. But it has a real opportunity to replace the Mobile Web. Facebook is far and away the biggest source of traffic for most websites (see the Sharealholic Chart above). Fish where the fish are. Why build a mobile website if you can upload content to a platform that has daily access to practically everyone you’d ever want to reach? This is a question that will be asked over and over again as Facebook continues to grow and other online vehicles and platforms are forced to fight for unique users and advertising dollars. If mobile is the future, Instant Articles is a remarkable head start.
