FT bets big on smart watches

Jessica Davies of The Drum writes about the Financial Times and its foray into distributing its content via smart watches in an interview with FT chief technology officer John O’Donovan.

Davies writes, “The FT has explored wearable devices such as Google Glass, but has chosen the platform on which it believes it can provide value to readers.

“‘It’s something that has considerably changed our view on how we use different devices. The biggest thing for the FT was proving we could do something relevant on wearables.

“‘We have looked at all of them [wearable devices] – the key thing is finding what’s right for each. A video might work well on Google Glass – fast FT and Headlines might work well on glass – but it’s unlikely you would want to read a whole article on Glass.’

“The launch came just ahead of the FT’s launch of a customisable API for government and education customers, letting them cherry pick the most relevant content for their businesses, which can then be repackaged into a contextual package.

“The FT Headline API means professionals can create lists of relevant FT headlines and integrate them into their intranet, CRM system or other technology platforms they use to allow for easier access to FT content most relevant to their employees.”

Read more here.