Apture is a new tool for bloggers that allows “content creators the power to find and incorporate relevant multimedia items directly into their pages” by adding links and small navigator windows to pages and posts automatically (CC Weblog).
This description of Apture couldn’t be more exact. I am a video producer, and until today, I had not found a way to let readers access and watch all of my videos without leaving that same page you are on right now (converting readers into viewers is tricky). With Apture, setting up one of those links is a breeze. Simply select directly on your homepage the word(s) you want to link to, and Apture automatically fetches for you related Youtube videos, Flickr photos, Wikipedia articles and WashPost content. Out of this automated pre-selection, you the publisher select what it is that you really want to link to.
Apture opens up the door to a new form of navigation system, where content is universal thanks to CC-license and Wikipedia’s GFDL license. As of today, small site publisher can try Apture for free, and the startup offers a revenue-sharing model for larger media sites. As far as I am concerned, Apture is one of the most innovative publishing solutions I have heard of and adopted so far. A lot of startups think that 3D is the way to tackle the flat Web symptom. Apture actually is a form of 3D, as it adds layers of content to your site. However, 3D is a little sci-fi and heavy on your bandwidth. Apture is down-to-earth and nice with your connection speed. Is this the Web 3.0 everyone is fussing about?
There is much more to be said about Apture, so read those great articles below:
With Apture, Hyperlinks Get Rich Media – Giga Om
Apture: Enrich Your Site’s Content – Brown Thoughts
Apture drags online news experience into the 21st century – Venture Beat
Fantastically cool code to watch – Lawrence Lessig’s blog