The Verge reports the failure of Facebook's Instant Articles to live up to its promise. While publishers were initially excited about the potential for Instant Articles to help them generate revenue,
that wasn't the focus for Facebook. "Facebook decided from the start that publishing a story using the Instant Articles format would not automatically improve its ranking in the News Feed. In
practice, Instant Articles typically do reach more people, because people are more likely to read and share them. But as the format spread, competition increased, and any advantage to using Instant
Articles was blunted within months. Given that Instant Articles were designed to carry less advertising than mobile web articles, broad reach was essential to ensure publishers would profit from the
format. The reach just never arrived," The Verge reported.
Read the whole story at The Verge »