Facebook Officially Joins the 'News' Campaign

If until now Twitter was the main reference for internet users to stay updated on daily events - from Beyoncé's latest outfit to Iran's nuclear negotiations with the West - now Facebook has signed a contract with nine reputable news outlets (including The New York Times, The Guardian, National Geographic, and BuzzFeed) to publish their content directly on Facebook. Until now, these publications had to first publish their articles and news on their own websites and then share the link on Facebook. However, with this new feature called 'Instant Articles', they can use Facebook itself to publish their content. This feature not only reduces server costs for these publications but also eliminates the concern that an article or video may not be compatible with Facebook's format. On the other hand, readers - Facebook users - do not need to leave the Facebook page to read the article; they can read the entire article right there as they view their Facebook feed. Initially, these publications will only publish some content that Facebook users are more interested in. Furthermore, this feature is only available on iOS applications (Apple's platform), although an Android version is likely to be launched soon. Facebook claims that with this feature, articles will load ten times faster for audiences, which is very beneficial for impatient users who just want a quick glance at the content. Additionally, The New York Times has reported that currently 14 to 16 percent of its online readers are directed from Facebook to their site. These publications can retain all advertising revenue for themselves, in which case we will see ads throughout these articles, or they can allow Facebook to take thirty percent of the advertising revenue while displaying them in Facebook's format. Facebook also allows these publications to collect data on how audiences use this service.