Google Fast Flip - why did this innovation not come from the magazine publishers, themselves?

Another quite ingenious, somewhat obvious-yet-still-missing-until-now innovation by Google was just announced: Google Fast Flip. I totally agree with Scott Karp over at the Publishing2.0 blog who blogs:  "Google knows a lot about the future of news — more than many publishers. It’s evident in Google’s new product, Fast Flip, which allows news consumers to “flip” through news stories. What’s striking about Fast Flip is that Google is innovating precisely where publishers used to lead innovation..."  Totally spot-on: why did this rather obvious idea not come the publishers, themselves? Where is their in-house innovation? I guess one reason is that many publishers don't seem to want to actually collaborate with each other... or am I wrong?

I test-drove Fast Flip, myself, and it really adds good value if you are not searching for complex stuff (since many magazines aren't indexed yet, I guess?)  So what about the money? eCommerceTimes reports: "For the first time, Google is sharing ad revenues from advertisements served up alongside the stories, and the company says it hopes the service will help increase traffic at those sites. Previously, Google paid only wire services for content. "We think publishers who participate in Google Fast Flip will benefit in the form of additional exposure, Web traffic and revenue," said Google spokesperson Chris Gaither. "That additional traffic offers another opportunity for a publisher to win loyal readers and show ads if they'd like. While it's too soon to tell if Fast Flip will graduate from Labs status, the company is may allow publishers to embed the Fast Flip technology on their own Web sites in the future, Gaither told the E-Commerce Times..."

2 key points: a) sharing ad revenues from ads served ALONGSIDE the stories (this is new, and crucial), and b) participating publishers benefit of additional exposure, web traffic and revenue (i.e. all three benefits are to be considered -- this is not just all about immediate cash revenue sharing. This is crucial, imho).

Scott Karp has another nugget in that really drills down to the bottom line:  "In digital media, on the web, the news package is now a function of software — which is why Google is innovating precisely where publishers are not. Fast Flip is, more accurately, an attempt to create a new UI for news — a better way to consume publishers’ content than publishers provide on their own sites"

A bit more from eCommerceTimes: "It's not perfect, and it won't solve the advertising crisis in traditional publishing, but Google's Fast Flip news-viewing product may represent a small step toward helping pen-and-paper publishers make a profitable leap to the digital age.Google rolled out Fast Flip on Monday as an experimental Labs product. It allows users to slide through tiled screenshots of news stories from the service's three dozen partner publishers. Clicking on a screenshot -- the service uses screenshots to speed loading times -- brings up a larger view that allows readers to flip screens from story to story, almost as if reading a newspaper or magazine. A second click on the screenshot takes the reader to the publisher's site..."

via www.ecommercetimes.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Google Wants To Ease News Browsing With Fast Flip (news.slashdot.org)
• Google Fast Flip: Reading Online a Bit More Like Print (businessweek.com)
• Hands on: limitations of Google Fast Flip make it a novelty (arstechnica.com)

Comments

[Bas]

Good question indeed.

They complain and blame others for their downfall, yet others are doing all the innovation. It's really time for the old content industries to innovate.

[Luis]

Gerd, I think you are right. But also do you really think this is the first viewer and there is a really competitive advantaje? zinio and some others have been doing this for years (of course, they are not Google and they are not doing it so good), but, there is an strategic possibility now: run to give contents to Google or to find an alternative.

[Videoovervågning]

Good post, thanks for sharing it.