Testing Apple News

Way back, I posted about Apple News on Photics.com

It seemed like another place to add my RSS Feed. So, I added it through iCloud and then I forgot about it. But on Christmas Eve, I posted an article about Donald Trump…

…which led to a significant boost in traffic. Apparently, Apple News might be useful. If you’ve noticed my posts around here, I’ve been losing enthusiasm with Apple. Meanwhile. I’ve been wondering what my next big project should be. I was thinking maybe it could be news related. So, Apple News seems like it might renew my interest with Apple.

Currently, I’m testing the system out. I’m not sure what is the benefit to publishing through Apple News, rather than just using an RSS Feed. Although, here’s where Hype is involved.

1 - Hype is mentioned and linked in the test article…

No, an iPad cannot replace a laptop / desktop… not for me anyway, as Hype is only on the Mac.

2 - Apple News uses iAds

One of the things Hype can do is create advertisements. Maybe this is an opportunity for the software. I haven’t gotten to the advertising part yet, as I’m still waiting for approval. (Typical Apple!) Yet, it seems that Hype is a match for Advertisers and Publishers. For Advertisers, Hype could make ads. (Export to iAds would be cool, but I’m not sure if that’s possible. I don’t know much about iAds Workbench.) As for Publishers, interactive content would make articles more engaging. (The problem with that is I’m not sure how to add Hype to the articles.)

If you’re familiar with iAds, you might be wondering, “Didn’t Apple give up on that?” Apparently, NBC is now involved…

This could be another Apple failure… like how they seemingly lost interest in iAds and Game Center. Yet, I’ve experienced the potential of Apple News. I don’t like Google, so making YouTube videos doesn’t seem like a match for me. But Apple News… hmmm… maybe that could work?

Heh, what sucks is that an active Apple developer account is needed to earn revenue. I thought I was done checking the iTunes Connect website. :smile:

But if this works out, maybe I’ll get back into App development again too. That’s yet another area for Hype to shine, as I’m thinking Hype could export projects to Apps.

Let me know how it goes - I know that the Apple News format doesn’t specifically allow scripts or iframes (requirements for adding Hype content as-is), but it does appear there might be some entry point through the iAd format.

Heh, I actually gave up already. My article was in review for hours, then I just deleted it. I’m out of the Apple garden and I like it. In order to keep testing Apple News, I have to give up the RSS Feed, which feels like a good enough method. I post an article and it still shows up on Apple News.

I decided to try Apple news again. One, I like it. I like what Apple has done with Apple News. Two, it seems to be popular.

There are four spikes in traffic on that chart.

Of course, this traffic is like candy. It’s sweet, but not really nutritious. It’s like a 95% bounce rate. I’m not aware of any book sales related to this traffic. Most people just hit the article and leave.

But, if Apple is going to manage advertisements, that could be interesting. These ads would be a lot harder to block, as it’s a dedicated app. Although, once advertising hits, are people still going to want to use Apple News? :thinking:

Anyway, I got an updated version of the Nintendo Switch article waiting in review. I don’t like the idea of losing my RSS feed, but this could be something better.

OK, I got approved. My first article is online in Apple News format…

So far, it feels pretty good. It seems better than the way iTunes Connect works. Although, if I want Apple’s advertisements to appear with my articles, I’ll have to restart my developer account. I’m going to watch the analytics and see if this is worth the effort. If the story does well, then it’s a good reason to keep trying.

It looks good so far…

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Probably not too many updates after this, as there’s not much else for me to do but write more articles. I just posted another one…

It was cool. I thought there might be another lengthy review, but the article moved over to published rather quick. I loaded the page, went to check if it was in drafts, but then it was already gone. Heh, I got nervous because I thought Apple deleted my article. The site seems pretty good though.

The views are not big enough for me to reactivate my developer account though. Maybe with some more articles it could be popular though. It’s kinda like having a YouTube channel, mixed with elements of an Apple Developer account – certainly less frustrating though.

The analytics are nice. The way I can integrate it with WordPress is also nice. I’ve been having fun with Apple News.

added to my favorites on my iPad, cool! I just searched for Photics and it came right up.

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(fyi your apple news links don’t appear to work anymore)

Yeah, I pulled the articles. It's a nice system, but I didn't see the benefit to me. Journalism is a rough business. I was having more fun making games with Hype.