3. How we consume news
c. 1605-2008 c. Today
e.g. gap time while in line for coffee,
waiting at a subway stop, etc.
4. Current news apps take an existing format
and force it into a smaller screen where
readers also have a dramatically shorter
attention span
New York Times iPhone App
5. The smallest unit of measure: the article
All articles are long-form on a mobile
device
A: Real estate
Q: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM WITH MOBILE NEWS?
6. The smallest unit of measure: the card
cf. Tweets, Facebook status updates, etc.
Mobile news needs atomization
Atomization needs context
A: Real estate Focus
Q: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM WITH MOBILE NEWS?
7. THE CONSTRUCTION OF MOBILE NEWS
Handwritten by editors, optimized
for mobile
Stories as collections of cards
8. Handwritten by editors, optimized
for mobile
Stories as collections of
interconnected cards
THE CONSTRUCTION OF MOBILE NEWS
! “” ?
9. Handwritten by editors, optimized
for mobile
Stories as collections of
interconnected cards
As a story develops, we only write/
push what’s new
THE CONSTRUCTION OF MOBILE NEWS
! “” ?
10. Handwritten by editors, optimized
for mobile
Stories as collections of
interconnected cards
As a story develops, we only write/
push what’s new
Our stories are long-form,
timeshifted
THE CONSTRUCTION OF MOBILE NEWS
“”! “” ?
11. At Circa, we atomize not summarize
Atomization: To break
down a story into its core
elements – the facts,
stats, quotes, media, etc.
Summarization: To create a smaller
version of an existing piece, cutting
content to make for a quicker read
12. The big innovation
Articles are inefficient for producing and
consuming headline news
Circa has invented very powerful software and
a unique process to continually update news
stories over time, making production far more
efficient and dramatically improving speed —
an increasingly important factor
Readers can follow news stories they care
about, receiving the updates editors add over
time — creating an innovative and incredibly
sticky way of consuming news over time
All of Circa's news content is created in
structured formats, paving the way for many
innovative new ways of presenting news
13. The “News Break”: an escalating arms race for urgency and attention
How Breaking News broke
BREAKING NEWS
14. Breaking news
Push notifications as news breaks
but instead of coming to a dead end
with no article, encourage readers to
follow stories to receive updates in
real time
Have seen nearly 50% conversion
rate (following) during breaking news
events, building a highly engaged
audience in moments
Circa's follow feature coupled with
breaking news puts us in a class all
our own during big events — one
that is extremely difficult to replicate
15. Accolades
Best news app of 2013 in both App
Store and Play Store
Current version (2.1) has a 5 star rating
in the App Store with over 1,000
reviews
#1 Startup to watch in 2014 –
Mashable
VentureBeat Startup to watch in 2014
GigaOm – one of six most interesting
things to happen in media in 2013