No Publisher can miss the invitation. “Want to become an Instant Articles Publisher” , asks Facebook provocatively in its Instant Articles announcement.
The Contact Us button is positioned prominently under the Call to Action.
It remains to be seen how many Indian publishers bite the bullet. Will they fill up the form that Facebook has so conveniently posted on its site? Or will they wait and watch?
Five American and four British publishers have entered Facebook’s walled garden. They include four of the world’s most respected names: BBC News, The Guardian, The New York Times and National Geographic.
The others are no less formidable. Each is a legend in its own right.
The handshake has happened after a series of meetings. The giants of traditional media have decided to seek comfort in the warm embrace of Facebook.
They clearly consider the new arrangement superior to the earlier one, where they posted story announcements on their Facebook page, and a flood of traffic followed.
It was a win-win situation. Even Indian publishers have been enjoying the fruits of Facebook’s monstrous reach. Almost every leading Indian media company has an aggressive Facebook facing policy.
They have been exhorting their visitors to login through Facebook or share their news reports on the social media site. The result: The Times of India, Dainik Jagaran and Dainik Bhaskar have garnered 6 milllion plus Likes each. There are many more Indian newspapers and television channels in the million plus Likes club.
However, so far they had safely shepherded their content on their servers. Now, Facebook wants them to publish the content on its servers.
Catch 22 situation for Indian media
It’s a catch 22 situation. On one hand, is the promised land. More traffic and advertising rupees; on the other is the danger of losing control over their content. Not immediately, but in the long run.
The fear is that Facebook may change its colours in the future. It may make exit impossible, if not downright dishonourable. There may be loss of face, as well as traffic, not to mention loss of revenue.
Facebook, of course, has gone out of its way to dispel these fears. It has made it clear that the entry into its famed premises will only rain benefits; also, it has not put any riders to exit in case the experiment fails or sours for publishers.
The clincher has been advertising. Publishers can sell their own advertising, and pocket the revenues. They can also use Facebook’s famed advertising machine, and carry away 70% of the loot.
There is another sweetener. Publishers can run Instant Articles on their websites too. Technically, speaking they don’t relinquish control.
Facebook has also promised faster downloads. Instant Articles will load ten times faster from the Facebook interface. What more do publishers want?
There’s speed; there’s control; there’s increased visibilitity; and there’s revenue.
So, what’s the fuss about?
Linkedin Publishing Platform
Facebook is not the first social media site to set up a customised publishing platform. Linkedin had thrown open its portals to publishers more than a year ago.
But its publishing platform did not attract the media. Individuals and small-time bloggers are the only ones who placed their content on Linkedin.
Facebook has been more successful , and therefore has raised eyebrows across the media world.
The only limitation is that today the Instant Articles can be browsed only on iPhones. But it is only a question of time before Facebook allows browsing rights on other operating systems.
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