Push Pop Press, the digital book software company known for creating the highly interactive iOS version of Al Gore’s book Our Choice, has been acquired by Facebook.
The social networking giant assures us it’s not getting into the e-book publishing business, but rather snatched up the startup so that it can allow “some of the technology, ideas and inspiration behind Push Pop Press to become part of how millions of people connect and share with each other on Facebook.”
Push Pop Press was founded by two Apple veterans, Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris, the former of which focused on interface design. And it shows. In a TED talk given earlier this year, Matas demoed the iPad version of Our Choice, which includes a slick, almost Flipboard-esque user interface, interactive infographics and animations.
In acquiring the company, Facebook gets its hands on design and engineering talent, as well as the technology underlying the Push Pop Press e-book service, which Facebook will presumably incorporate into its own tablet apps and other products moving forward.
Like this one, many of Facebook’s acquisitions have been made in order to acquire talent and technology. The company acquired Hot Potato in 2010 and quickly moved to incorporate the underlying technology into what would later become Facebook Places. The previous year’s acquisition of Friendfeed was made largely for its talent, leaving the product itself to languish and fade away.
The Push Pop team will cease publishing e-books, but Our Choice will continue to be sold and its profits will be donated to a climate change advocacy nonprofit.
