Explaain
Explaain is a plugin for news sites that brings your articles to life with interactive fact boxes. The Global Editors Network asked us a few questions for their Startups For News competition, ahead of the sixth pitch battle which we’ll be taking part in this week. To vote for Explaain, please do it here.
GEN: What problem are you solving?
Explaain: News publishers are struggling to keep readers from leaving their sites, because the user experience of static articles doesn’t live up to the standards expected by today’s mobile generation. Readers are also struggling to learn about complex news topics without spending time and effort searching for answers elsewhere. The result is declines in publisher revenues, public understanding of current affairs and general trust in the news media.
What is the solution you are offering?
Explaain adds relevant interactive fact boxes to articles, so that readers can click on topics to learn more about them without leaving the page. This improves the user experience and means readers can get more out of articles without having to search elsewhere. Publishers get increased engagement and retention rates, which directly increase their advertising revenues. We offer both a technology and a content solution, so no extra effort is required by journalists. In short, it’s a no-brainer!
List 3 reasons why you are better than your competitors
- We’re the only solution for increasing engagement that also helps readers become more informed at the same time.
- Explaain is flexible so that any type of article on any topic can be made interactive instantly and the tool never looks out of place.
- We let journalists have as little or as much involvement with the content as they like, meaning that each organisation can have the perfect balance of bespoke content and out-of-the-box cards.
How does your company make money?
Explaain is a Software-as-a-Service solution for publishers. Our pricing plan is a freemium model, so publishers can use the technology for free, but pay for premium features such as analytics, custom design, custom card types and connecting their own archive of content. We’re backed by Google DNI and the EU’s Horizon 2020 fund for Innovative Journalism, and are Core Partners of the First Draft network.
What are your next steps?
We want Explaain cards to become the Lego bricks of news across the web. Not only can they extend articles, but journalists will be able to create their own unique interactive experiences, using the cards as building blocks. Our aim is to help create a common standard of news facts, to help tackle issues like fake news and misinformation. Not only that, we’re also releasing something big for the UK Snap Election in June — stay tuned!
