New York Media integrates blockchain in publishing platform

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New York Media, whose sites include New York Magazine and Slate, is collaborating with Po.et, a blockchain protocol for creative content management.

According to a press statement, the partnership will involve integration of blockchain technology in New York Media’s open-source publishing platform, Clay, allowing publishers to widen options for establishing ownership of content, and to better monetize this. Po.et’s system also allows for the creation of applications “to further enable services such as efficient contributor networks, content marketplaces, and decentralized search algorithms,” the statement read.

The new functionalities are expected to be available by early next year.

New York Media Chief Product Officer Daniel Hallac said of the collaboration that his company was “curious to see what new uses will come out of this tech.”

Po.et CEO Jarrod Dicker commented, “In the same way that blockchain technologies have revolutionized the financial industry, Po.et wants to transform the publishing industry by creating an immutable and distributed ledger for creative works that may serve as a platform for both centralized and decentralized media applications.”

Dicker said that the Clay platform had been viewed as a suitable means for Po.et to be made accessible to major publishers. “By leveraging all technologies within its stack, New York Media and its partners will continue to push on the bleeding edge of newsroom innovation,” he said.

Po.et boasts of an easy-to-use application programming interface (API), and integrates with major content management systems such as WordPress.

Po.et Head of Product David Turner, in a post on Medium, said, “We love the fact that Clay is powered by open-source software. It’s comprised of Javascript modules available on npm, but the core of the system is based on Kiln, the editing interface, and Amphora, the REST API.”

He added that the work with large-scale publishers such as New York Media will help with adapting their core protocol for use cases yet to be discovered. “The best way to build great products is with partners that will put our handiwork to the test,” Turner said.