I’m a big Flipboard fan. Yesterday Robert Scoble posted on his Google+ feed that Google is working on a competitor.
“My source says that the versions he’s seen so far are mind-blowing good.”
Kara Swisher follows up:
Google is indeed working on rolling out the new product, which is currently called Propeller.
Sources said Propeller is apparently one of a number of new socially focused announcements Google is prepping, including new apps. But the timing for their launch is unclear.
Here’s what is: Propeller is a souped-up version of similar reader apps such as Flipboard, AOL’s Editions, Yahoo’s Livestand, Zite (which was just bought by Time Warner’s CNN) and Pulse.
Facebook is also making social versions of publications available within its site. So, instead of just seeing a sidebar on a news site of what stories your friends liked, you’ll get a personalized and reformatted version of the latest news when you visit that publication’s page within Facebook.
All these apps are part of the drastically changing habits of media consumers, helping them better navigate numerous social and media feeds — such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as news sites and more — using handsome interfaces and touch technologies.
More details from 9 to 5 Google. Publishers will be able:
…inject AdSense ad units into Propeller editions of their publications and collect user and usage info via email and Google Analytics, respectively. Sources told 9to5Google that publishers could even be able to sell individual articles to readers for a small fee, collected via the Google Checkout mechanism. Such a tight integration between Google’s payment, analytics and advertising services and publishers’ content should allow for rich monetization options and greater flexibility and engagement from readers.
Photo credit (via Kara): “This Noogler Propeller Hat — which is given to all new Googlers — is in the collection at the Computer History Museum, the gift of Marcin Wichary; the image is by Mark Richards.”