Push Pop Press

What Push Pop Press does

Push Pop Press was a San Francisco-based digital publishing company founded in 2010 by former Apple employees Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris to re-imagine the book for touch-screen devices. The company built a proprietary physics-based multi-touch publishing platform that combined text, photography, audio, video, animations, interactive maps, and data-rich infographics into a seamless exploration experience for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.

Its sole flagship product was 'Our Choice' (2011), an interactive book app created in partnership with Al Gore, Melcher Media, and Rodale Books surveying the causes and solutions of global warming. The app featured over 270 photographs, 35 documentary movies totaling more than an hour of footage, 15 original animations, and 15 interactive infographics, and was widely praised by tech press including The New York Times' David Pogue. Distribution was exclusively through Apple's iOS App Store as a one-time consumer purchase.

The company operated with a core team of four and generated revenue solely via App Store sales of Our Choice, with future profits pledged to The Climate Reality Project. Shortly after the 2011 product launch, Push Pop Press was acquired by Facebook; the co-founders joined Facebook to integrate the publishing technology into the social platform, and the company discontinued independent publishing and halted further development of its publishing platform, which had been in private beta.

Name

Push Pop Press

Legal name

Push Pop Press

Website

http://pushpoppress.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Push Pop Press was a San Francisco digital publishing startup (founded 2010) that built a multi-touch iOS platform for interactive books and shipped one flagship title, Al Gore's 'Our Choice,' before being acquired by Facebook in 2011.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Interactive Digital Publishing

NAICS

Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Publishing Creation & Formatting Tools (EPUB, conversion, layout) (MPAJAMAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Reading Content & eBooks (Leveled Readers, Libraries) (EDAFACAH), Interactive Multimedia Learning Content (Video, Audio, Interactive Lessons) (EDAFACAG)

Keywords

• Digital publishing platform
• Interactive book apps
• Multimedia publishing
• IOS publishing software
• Interactive ebook technology

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Digital Book Sales: One-time purchase revenue from selling the 'Our Choice' interactive book app through iOS App Store to consumers

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Push Pop Press developed a physics-based multi-touch digital publishing platform and used it to create "Our Choice," an interactive digital book by Al Gore about climate change solutions. The platform enabled the seamless integration of text, over 270 photographs, 35 documentary videos, 15 animations, interactive maps, and 15 interactive infographics into a single touchscreen reading experience for iOS devices.

Product overview

Push Pop Press operated as a publishing technology company with a single core product (Our Choice) built on their proprietary publishing platform. Our Choice was an interactive digital book combining narrative text, photography, documentary video, audio commentary, and interactive infographics. The platform technology was described as being in private beta with no plans to continue publishing new titles after the company's acquisition by Facebook in 2011.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Our Choice An interactive digital book application by Al Gore that surveys the causes of global warming and presents solutions, featuring over 270 photographs, 35 short movies (over an hour of documentary footage), 15 original animations, interactive maps, and 15 interactive infographics. Sold as a one-time purchase on iOS App Store for individual environmentally-conscious consumers.
• Push Pop Press Publishing Platform A proprietary technology platform for creating and publishing interactive digital books that integrate text, images, audio, video, and interactive graphics with physics-based multi-touch interfaces. Operated only in private beta and was not commercially launched as a standalone offering.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 270 high-quality photographs from world-renowned photographers
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Al GoreflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAl Gore partnered with Push Pop Press to create 'Our Choice' interactive book. Gore provided the narrative content, original audio commentary, and convened over 30 Solutions Summits to gather research. The book presents Gore's insights and solutions on global warming.
• Melcher MediacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMelcher Media (led by Charlie Melcher) was a co-producer of the Our Choice book alongside Push Pop Press. Melcher Media is a New York-based multiplatform content producer working with clients including Al Gore, Condé Nast, HBO, Nike, and GE.
• Rodale BookscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRodale Books served as the book publisher for Our Choice, partnering with Push Pop Press and Melcher Media to produce the interactive digital edition.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Touchpress: Touchpress created award-winning interactive iPad book apps combining narrative, video, audio, and interactive graphics - the exact same product category Push Pop Press pioneered with Our Choice. They shipped multiple titles and won Apple Design Awards, making them a near-perfect product peer.
• Kno: Kno built interactive digital textbooks with rich multimedia features for iPad and tablets, with significant content partnerships. Comparable as a tablet-first interactive publishing platform, primarily in the educational vertical but with the same technology stack.
• Vook: Vook was an early digital publishing platform that produced enhanced e-books with embedded video, audio, and interactive features for iPad and other platforms. Directly comparable as a multimedia digital book publisher during the same 2010-2012 period.
• Inkling: Inkling built interactive digital reading and learning experiences for iPad, including multimedia-enhanced textbooks and trade books. Direct comparability with Push Pop Press as a peer in the interactive digital publishing category, sharing the same iOS-first, multimedia-rich book format.

Emerging players

• Madefire: Madefire pioneered 'motion books' - digital comics with cinematic motion, sound, and interactive elements for tablets. Highly comparable as an early multimedia interactive content pioneer on iOS, focused on a different content vertical (comics vs. non-fiction).
• Booktrack: Booktrack added synchronized soundtracks and audio effects to e-books, creating an enhanced reading experience. Comparable as an emerging player in multimedia-augmented digital books during the same iPad-driven era.
• Enhanced Media (Enhanced Editions / Diversion Books): Enhanced Media produced 'Enhanced Editions' - e-books with embedded video, audio, and interactive elements. Comparable as a small emerging player in multimedia digital publishing on iPad during the same period.

Broad incumbents

• Barnes & Noble NOOK: NOOK was Barnes & Noble's e-reader and tablet platform with an interactive book catalog. Broad incumbent peer in digital reading, with comparable multimedia ambitions in the same 2010-2013 timeframe.
• Apple Books (iBooks Author): Apple's own digital book platform and authoring tool (iBooks Author) launched in 2012 and is the broadest incumbent in iOS interactive publishing. Directly comparable as a multi-touch digital book authoring and reading platform on iOS.
• Amazon Kindle: Amazon's Kindle is the dominant e-book platform globally. Comparable as a large incumbent in digital book distribution and consumption, though primarily focused on text rather than Push Pop Press's interactive multimedia specialty.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pushpoppress

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Push Pop Press