Multi-platform digital publishing is coming
Create once. Publish everywhere.
In 2013, we found ourselves repeating the same phrase to all kinds of people:
You already publish to the web, so why not publish everywhere else?
Of course this is the way we see it. XOXCO has spent over a year developing Packagr to enable multi-platform publishing and re-use of content, so we’ve been living in our own device-agnostic utopia here in Austin for a while. Want to read something in our office? You can pick up any device and get the same content delivered natively, regardless of form or format.
Educating clients on the benefits of multi-platform publishing largely characterized our work in the second half of 2013.
The blog format is the primary channel for digital publishers on the web, but it is only one of many. Subscriptions, app stores, and direct downloads are great examples of secondary channels worth just as much consideration these days. Unfortunately, the costs associated with having this kind of reach leaves many publishers and content marketers sticking to what worked a decade ago.
Effective content strategy requires a high-degree of coordination across a variety of professional disciplines, but publishing to new formats can be disruptive. Unfortunately, the limitations of our current systems have made the digital publishing workflow very rigid.
Modern publishing tools need to simplify the publishing process, and catch up to where our content strategies have evolved.
Create once. Publish everywhere.
In our vision of the multi-platform future, content creators simultaneously publish to all formats, and readers simply choose their preferred delivery mechanism. This could mean reading on an iPad mini, eBook reader or in an email — but could also mean a 4k display, car windshield or wrist-mounted projector.
Content delivery will inevitably become more challenging as new technology requires additional formats.
The disconnect that exists now between content publishing and content delivery is evident: deep-seated content management systems and entrenched publishing workflows make it difficult for people to be nimble in the face of emerging technologies.
Often, the opportunity cost of a heavy investment in WordPress, InDesign or other systems can mean forgoing an exciting channel for content delivery.
How is it done?
Content can be packaged for delivery outside of the current management systems. Using technologies like responsive HTML5, multiple publication formats like eBooks and apps can be created simultaneously and distributed at the same time. The tools are evolving so that anyone can create these digital publications, regardless of programming knowledge.
Intuitive, collaborative editing environments like Medium are popular and evolving fast. However, content will continue to consist primarily of words, pictures and video, so it’s the storage and delivery mechanisms that really need to catch up.
Currently, over 7000 different types of devices access Facebook every day. Digital publishers need to consider how their content will be presented on the many device-types that will emerge in 2014 and beyond.
