UK company Publisha has created a platform for doing what people are already doing but with less labor and more standardization: publishing across platforms that include mobile. The platform is currently in beta.
From one dashboard, a user can publish to a website (provided by Publisha), to iPhone/iPad and to Facebook, where the Publisha network is broadcast. The same act produces an RSS feed, is indexed on search engines and soon will publish to Twitter.
CEO Ian Howlett focuses on the platform as a service that produces a “whole ecosystem” of publishing.
“Unlike PDF readers, we’re not trying to replicate print magazines, but rather focus on offering a service to bloggers, writers and publishers who don’t want the constraints of a traditional magazine layout. Publisha allows even small teams to easily publish across multiple digital platforms.”
There is also a focus on what the company’s marketing consultant Anna Sjöström calls “the heart of Publisha’s beta framework.
“(It’s) a unique Facebook app that sits as an ‘articles’ tab within an existing Facebook page and enables publishing of full articles, interactive content, polls and takes advantage of inbuilt viral features.”
The basic Publisha account does not require an initial outlay. But of course, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. The company takes 20% of your ad space and 20% revenue of any ads you sell through your Publisha-published site. The basic site is 10 GB, the $50 Professional account is 20 and the $250 Enterprise allows you 30. With the Enterprise account, you do not farm out any ad space.
The examples of Publisha users the company provides include Amarya, an organic health and beauty company, and Bodas USA, a bridal magazine. The trade-off seems to be expressiveness for convenience and standardization. Here’s the Amarya blog and here is the Facebook app for Bodas.
Publisha is lead by CEO Howlett, formerly a software developer with Unisys and FT.com, and Chairman and angel investor Chris Mottes. Mottes is the co-founder and CEO of Deadline Games and CEO of Six Ravens Capital.
All in all it seems like a reasonable offer for people and companies who do not want to spend capital and work-hours on maintaining an integrated social media presence.
