Introducing The Glam Apps Platform: Monetized Apps, OSS Platform

Glam Media has announced the Glam Apps Platform, a new, open-source application-maker that is cross-platform and can be monetized with embedded advertizing.

This extremely cunning model enables the building of apps that can be priced or monetized with advertising from multiple sources. The Platform is designed (presumably) for mashing content from the Glam Network, but as it's open source, this is great news for everyone. In any case, the Glam Network is huge. Still in private Beta, you can apply for an invite to the developers resource at the link below.

Apps you can build with the platform include media distribution (video, blogs, photos, news), Web service (feeds, comments), search and geolocation apps, games and social apps, ad-widgets, and publisher utilities like analytics and publishing.

Built widgets are based on the Google Gadget spec. and conform to Open Social standards, so they should be comfortable in almost any environment either behind the social-network walled gardens on on the wild frontiers of the Web.

We like the sound of this a lot, and you can expect a more in-depth look at this and maybe a tutorial at a later date. Money is pretty useful stuff, after all, and the widgets will live at a dedicated Glam Apps Store, where you can give them away for free or stick a price tag on them. And ADVERTIZE, man!

If you know for certain what a 'vertical content network' is, you have this blogger at a disadvantage. He reckons they mean the 'Gawker' model, where one organization owns a bunch of blogs and links them all together for link-building and administrative purposes. In any case, Glam seems to lay claim to being the pioneers in the field, which is dubious. In any case, although he can't be sure what they're talking about, this bit seems relevant, so he trancribes the marketing blurb verbatim:

'In the same way that Glam set a precedent for bringing brands online through its innovative vertical content network, Glam Apps Platform is poised to do the equivalent for applications, enabling brand advertisers to integrate into or sponsor engaging applications and for agencies to sponsor and distribute innovative, highly trackable widget campaigns.'

As a related aside, to our knowledge Gawker don't provide this kind of app-building framework, but will doubtless take note of this most interesting development.

Glam Media is a Top 20 media company in the USA, pulling in 77m monthly global uniques from its stable of some 640, mostly women-oriented websites.
Apply to be part of the Beta... we have.

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