Facebook’s widespread use makes ‘distributed content’ for its platform a different analysis than for Snapchat or others

You might have heard: Facebook may host news sites’ content, testing an approach in coming months with possible partners including The New York Times, BuzzFeed and National Geographic (New York Times)

But did you know: Josh Benton writes about the size of Facebook’s userbase as a differentiator from previous discussions we’ve seen about publishers experimenting with content made for social. Our recent Millennials research says 88% of Millennials get news from Facebook, though it’s not the primary reason they go there. Writes Benton: “Facebook isn’t just another platform. It’s dominant in a way no other platform is, which makes it understandable that publishers might be weighing the cost-benefit — or control-benefit — analysis differently than it does for, oh, WhatsApp or Snapchat.”

+ “The key is not just which publishers work with Facebook, but which kind of content they provide,” Storyful editor David Clinch says (@davidclinchnews, Twitter); Earlier: “That kind of wholesale transfer of content sends a cold, dark chill down the collective spine of publishers, both traditional and digital insurgents alike,” David Carr wrote (New York Times)

+ Vox Media issued a case study on its activity on Facebook, which accounts for up to 40% of the site’s overall monthly traffic and sometimes involves creating content just for Facebook: “There is inherent brand-building value in getting in front of audiences even if they aren’t always directed back to a website … By employing this strategy, Vox.com has been able to attract fans quickly and grow a strong base on Facebook, which in turn results in more web site referrals over the long run.” (Vox Media)

+ Noted: Cox Media will move its paid newspaper sites from a hard paywall to metered subscriptions(NetNewsCheck); Huffington Post launches HuffPost Gratitude, a new section in partnership with American Greetings and with content from scientists and social workers (Huffington Post); Adobe will this summer launch Adobe Publish, a tool for app building “without requiring new development skills” (Talking New Media);Google implementing a data-driven ad buying system for local TV (Wall Street Journal); ProPublica teams with CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism for water usage project (ProPublica);“Significant changes” to be made to AP Stylebook’s sports section, to be announced at upcoming copy editors convention (Poynter); Ahead of Columbia University’s review, police find no evidence of rape reported in controversial Rolling Stone report (New York Times)