Facebook Acquires Book App Developer Push Pop Press

By Hannah Johnson

Facebook announced Tuesday that it has bought Push Pop Press, the company behind the much-hyped e-book app, Our Choice by Al Gore.

Push Pop Press founders, Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris, said of the acquisition, “we’re taking our publishing technology and everything we’ve learned and are setting off to help design the world’s largest book, Facebook.”

So does this mean that Facebook is getting into the book publishing business? According to Matas and Tsinteris, it doesn’t. “Although Facebook isn’t planning to start publishing digital books, the ideas and technology behind Push Pop Press will be integrated with Facebook, giving people even richer ways to share their stories. With millions of people publishing to Facebook each day, we think it’s going to be a great home for Push Pop Press.”

Our Choice iPad app

A statement from Push Pop Press says the company will no longer continue developing its publishing platform.

However, the interactive browsing experience of the Our Choice app combined with the vast content on Facebook could be a game changer for digital content across all media industries, especially if that content can be curated and packaged as an app. Is this the future of publishing?

About the Author

Hannah Johnson

Hannah Johnson is the publisher of international book industry magazine Publishing Perspectives, which provides daily information and news about book markets around the world. In addition to building partnerships with international cultural and trade organizations, she works with the Frankfurt Book Fair to organize and support a number of its overseas initiatives. Hannah has also worked as the managing editor for an online media company, The Hooch Life, focused on craft distillers and cocktail experts. Prior to that, she worked as a project manager for the Frankfurt Book Fair’s New York office, managing various business and marketing activities.