Google Fast Flip is Here

Google has just recently released Fast Flip, Google's newest service that will allow you to read internet articles the way they should be read, like a magazine. You flip pages, just like reading a book. Making it more convenient for readers to enjoy every bit of what they are reading.



The service is meant to duplicate the look and feel of perusing a printed publication. The stories are displayed on electronic pages that can be quickly scrolled through by clicking on large arrows on the side instead of a standard Web link that requires waiting several seconds for a page to load. Readers can sort through content based on topics, favorite writers and publications.

For now, Fast Flip will only  show first page of a story. Readers who want to continue will have to continue will have to click through to the publishers site, where they display reverts to a traditional Web page.

More than three dozen publishers, broadcasters and Web-only outlets have agreed to share their content on Fast Flip. The participants include two major newspapers, The New York Times and the Washington Post, as well as large magazines like Newsweek and Business Week.

The publishers providing the stories to Fast Flip will get most of the revenue from the ads the Google intends show in the new format. That's a switch from Google's main search page and it's news section, where the Mountain View-based company keeps all the money from ads shown alongside headlines and snippets from stories.


Fast Flip is the latest step that Google has taken to improve its relationship with newspaper and magazine publishers, many of whom have railed against the company for profiting from their articles without sharing wealth. The acrimony has escalated as a three-year decline in the print medium's ad revenue accelerated during the past year. The newspaper industry's ad sales plunged 29 percent during the first half this year while Google's crept up 4 percent. In another example of cooperation, Google recently offeredto help newspaper publishers set up a system to charge readers for access to parts of their Web sites.

While the notion of Google funneling more sales to publishers is appealing, news executives also want to ensure that Fast Flip doesn't become too popular. Publishers still want readers to come to their Web sites, where they can sell ads without giving Google a peice of the action.