[A New Direction] Could WordPress Be Unnecessary? How note pro Changes the Way We Build Owned Media

This news just came in.

Piece of Cake Inc., operator of the media platform note, will begin offering note pro on March 13, a service that lets companies easily launch web media. Beyond simply building a website, it provides an integrated, one-stop service supporting audience acquisition, fan community building, and monetization. It is a solution for building effective media services tailored to corporate purposes such as branding, recruitment communications, and subscription media.

Source: Piece of Cake Inc. | PR Times

This article will explain this news.

What Is note?

▶note — Create, Connect, Deliver.

Following operator Piece of Cake's terminology, it is a media platform. At its core, it is a place for publishing text content, with social features such as following and hashtags, and features for selling and buying paid content, including its own payment system.

This is not an exact description, but imagine Ameblo or Hatena Blog updated for today's world, with paid content trading added. You can think of it as a slightly more advanced blogging platform.

*Overseas, midium is a platform with a large market share.

note, particularly its content trading features, is often used by influencers earning money from blogs. This means “individuals can monetize easily at extremely low cost.”

A Corporate Plan for note Arrives

Today, note's corporate plan note pro launched.

▶note pro | note's Corporate Plan Is Here.

note pro Solves Three Challenges for Web Media
note pro addresses three challenges in web media: 1. Building and operating it; 2. Attracting audiences; 3. Business.

1. Building and operating
•Launching new media on an already operating platform makes it possible to build with a dramatically smaller budget.
•note will continue releasing updates that meet users' needs.

2. Attracting audiences
•You can leverage note's platform user base of over ten million monthly active users.
•You can reach readers with a strong interest in creativity.

3. Business
•Payment systems such as subscriptions are available for monetizing content.
•Integration with shopping carts from eleven sites makes it possible to start media ecommerce immediately.

Source: Piece of Cake Inc. | PR Times

note pro solves the headaches of building owned media.

Those headaches are precisely building and operating it, attracting audiences, and business, or monetization.

Most companies build owned media using WordPress.

However, although individuals and small and medium businesses can build owned media more easily through WordPress, and it is widely used, it is hard to call it perfect at present.

note pro apparently resolves these issues as follows.
How does it hold up?

Conclusion: It Is Worth Adopting

My opinion is that it is worth adopting.

Those are my reasons.

Let's look at each one.

It Seems Likely to Resolve WordPress's Disadvantages

I have explained this already, but here is more support.

Ten Million Monthly Active Users and Over One Million Registered Members

This means note is active in both bringing visitors from outside and encouraging them to browse within the platform. In other words, while expecting too much of its audience acquisition power would be unwise, we can probably expect a reasonable amount.

You Can Focus on Content

Because it provides the platform, you are freed from operational worries such as CMS updates and stability. That is a major benefit.

It Costs ¥50,000 per Month but Offers Good Value

How you interpret ¥50,000 per month matters. In reality, outsourcing proper WordPress maintenance normally costs around ¥50,000.

Depending on whom you hire, the speed of recovery when problems occur and the resulting lost opportunities are also unknown. In my experience, the final cost and time tend to exceed expectations.

However, although we will ultimately have to operate it to know for sure, with note we can expect problems to be kept close to zero, or dramatically faster responses when they occur. This is based on its track record.

Usability can also be judged from its operating history, and new features will probably continue to appear. You will not need to worry about maintenance when they do.

You Can Use a Custom Domain

One worry when a platform like this appears is that it may take the copyright to the content you create. You need to check the terms carefully on this point.

Even without taking copyright, providing content under the platform's domain means Google evaluates that domain—in other words, the platform.

But using your own domain lets you show Google and the outside world that the content belongs to your company.

However… Plan for the Possibility of Losing Access to note pro

There seem to be ample advantages to note pro, but at the same time, remember properly that dependence on a platform also brings risks.

Various things can happen, and the problem is that your company cannot control them.

To avoid these risks, you should probably:

Those are the main measures.

This service starts after consultation with a sales representative before applying, so check its terms, especially whether the risk avoidance measures above are possible, before using it.

But if these risks can be avoided, it should offer excellent value, especially since WordPress's usability and development have been somewhat disappointing lately.

Announcement

My company, ACIDHOUSE, INC., offers consulting on website construction and moving businesses online for business success, including note pro. If you are interested, please get in touch.