Google Currents: A Mixed Blessing for Subscription Sites

Google just came out with Google Currents last week, an app that lets publishers create mobile-friendly content across platforms (iPhone, Android, etc.). By all

Google just came out with Google Currents last week, an app that lets publishers create mobile-friendly content across platforms (iPhone, Android, etc.). By all accounts, the software seems rather intuitive for both readers and publishers. And Google already has 150 publications on board.What’s missing? Paywall sites.To be fair, there are some membership sites available on Google Currents, like The Motley Fool and The Street. But these sites tend to upsell other products while providing free access to articles. The New York Times is noticeably absent, as is the Financial Times, who recently parted ways with Apple regarding their App policy.Still, Google Currents may be worth a look, especially for anyone with a leaky paywall, free blog or heavy social media presence.While I couldn’t find any information on how a publisher can make money through Currents, Smithsonian magazine did ask if they could send information to my Google email address after viewing 2-3 articles, so there’s a potential for growing your opt-in list.Has your website experimented with Google Currents yet? Are you able to monetize anything? If so, let us know…

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