
Forget apps, OnSwipe is the future of publishing. - jasonlbaptiste
http://thenextweb.com/media/2011/01/24/forget-apps-onswipe-is-the-future-of-publishing/
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msy
If the future of publishing is an ipad friendly Wordpress theme the industry
is in more trouble than I could conceive. This kind of absurd hyperbole makes
it hard to take small but interesting ideas seriously.

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jasonlbaptiste
You're sincerely mistaken if you think that's the end game for us or that the
smart people involved would bet on something that small.

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gyardley
Of course there's got to be more to it - but he could be forgiven, given the
content of the article you posted.

So, tell us more.

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Ramone
Smart people are involved. What more do you need to know?

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pclark
Everything.

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jimboyoungblood
I think he was being sarcastic. At least I hope so.

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jsm386
_'Apps are bullshit for content,' says Baptiste who refers to native apps as
'PDF readers'' and equates them to a Ponzi scheme for publishers.'_

I really don't understand that quote. I didn't watch the video so perhaps
there is some context I am missing...How are apps a Ponzi scheme?

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steveklabnik
I think he's talking about this:
[http://tpdsaa.tumblr.com/post/2731809145/submitted-by-
serget...](http://tpdsaa.tumblr.com/post/2731809145/submitted-by-sergethew)

Basically, everyone wants to make their own branded apps, but few people are
actually going to bother to buy them. The publishers are the victims, not the
guys at the top of the pyramid, it's the app makers who're going to profit.

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Timothee
It's not a Ponzi scheme though, is it?

It might be a scam, but for it to be a Ponzi scheme, the developers would need
to use the money they get from the first publishers to, say, buy the apps
they've developed to show it gets great returns to get new publishers to
pay... (or something like that)

~~~
steveklabnik
Yeah, I'm not sure the analogy is a great one.

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patrickgzill
The article is a little breathless in its style... hard to see how there is
any sort of barrier to entry being raised for another competitor to do the
same thing.

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ericgs
<http://www.ridesurfboard.com> was posted on here the other day in an ask hn.
Seems like this "niche" is starting to already get crowded by a bunch of
people scrambling to get a piece of the Flipboard pie.

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eli
So how does this make money? Is it also an ad network, or am I just paying for
a platform that allows me to sell ipad ads effectively?

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arethuza
Red Bull sponsorship? :-)

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watty
Looks neat but not revolutionary at all. I don't think each content provider
needs their own app but what's the problem with using a mobile friendly format
and letting RSS readers do the extra work?

Pulse:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v...](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=WVjn27OdDBE#t=234s)

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jasonlbaptiste
I should really really clarify: the demo shown in the video is of PadPressed,
the precursor to OnSwipe. Think of padpressed as the equivalent of our
"university research project". OnSwipe is a much much larger evolution from
that and encompasses a lot more.

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pclark
I don't really get this. Do publishers use Wordpress? Why are they so proud
that it is not an app? Why is this better?

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jasonlbaptiste
Many many publishers use Wordpress, especially their VIP program. Wordpress
powers 10% of the web (Tony Conrad, partner at true ventures tweeted this,
will post as reference).

We're working with more than WP as a CMS, but it's a huge install base.

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emilis_info
Things real people dont say about reading publications: "We need more engaging
advertising".

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jpr
Fuck everything, we're doing a Wordpress theme!

