Facebook is moving into the news business, hoping to capitalise on news outlets' latest refocus on social networking. Its Editions project will see the networking giant face-up to Apple and Google, who are both working on projects to monitize our appetite for news in real-time.
Fifteen years ago news outlets opted to make the content that had a cover-price free online, a strategy based trying to get a slice of the then large online advertising pie. Then, after putting all of its eggs in one basket, it faced a severe decline in advertising revenue, forcing many newsrooms to cut their staff. Then, after much strategising, some outlets opted for paywalls, a decision that to this day still causes plenty of debate in the news industry. Some outlets, like the The Times, Sunday Times, New York Times and the Financial Times delivered various options - fully restrictive or freemium services. It all appears to have provided some security for the medium-term.
Enter Facebook, who, with over 750 million members, has decided to move into the news business with its Facebook Editions - an app that allows users to consume news within its walls.
News outlets had been working with Apple and its Newsstand offering which would update subscribers news subscriptions via an exclusive App. I wrote a post about this in September 2009 about the 'Changing And Charging Times For News.' Many outlets have signed-up to Apple's Newsstand. Others haven't, not liking the terms set out - including a 30% fee for Apple. The Financial Times is a case whereby they have taken their content from the App Store and have developed an HTML5 site that can be accessed through iPhone, iPods and iPads. Developed by Assanka, the HTML5 app is fluid and smooth and as a subscriber I have to say that it set's the standard.
Facebook knows that over a third of its 750 million users access the site through mobile devices, and those who access the site on a cell-phone or tablet as active than traditional desktop users. This explains why news outlets like CNN, The Washington Post and Rupert Murdoch's The Daily are wanting in on Zuckerberg's next project.
The fact is that the consumption of news has not diminished, it has most probably risen. Start-ups like Flipboard show how we the consumer like our news to be gathered from trusted sources that can verify content, such as journalists, as well as from friends and peers that can deliver unverified news, enabling us to be the first for news.
The speed at which news is consumed is what the PR community is going to have to focus on as outlets compete to deliver quality content.