Publishing Changing "In An Instant" - Google and Twitter Team Up to Offer Their Own Instant Articles

Now Google and Twitter are getting in on the instant game, announcing that they too will be allowing publishers to show "instant articles" to readers who are using their services while on mobile devices. One of the key differences here, however, is that neither Google nor Twitter will be hosting the articles. Unlike Facebook's approach, the "instant article" that pops up is a "snapshot" of the article hosted on the original publisher's site. This is of particular importance to those publishers who were not crazy about Facebook being the host to their content, but still want to reach us eager readers who, apparently, possess the attention span of a fruit fly.

But are instant articles the be all and end all of news publishing right now? Nope. Another major media move to watch is by tech's most glorious fruit, Apple, (a title easily usurped from beans) as they roll out the Apple News App this week. This new app, available with iOS 9, will allow users to read, share and save articles, as well as curate their feeds to include only the news outlets they value.

So what does it all mean? Expect more content, quicker. Speed has long been a key factor in the news industry, and that desire to be the first to publish is certainly extending to how quickly we want to share and consume news. I, for one, welcome our new instant article overlords, even though the eight second delay never really bothered me. Patience is a virtue and I lived through dial-up modems, emerging on the other side a more patient person because of it.