This is the second of a three-part series about what we’ve been up to since we published version 2.0 of the whitepaper. In Part One, we looked at new PUBLISHsoft clients and PUBLISHalliance initiatives. In part two, we look at some of our most noteworthy partnerships, achievements, and developments.

We partnered with Alexandria and joined the IPTC.

In March, we partnered with Alexandria to develop an extended Open Index Protocol specification catering to blockchain news dissemination as part of our news authentication and archival service. We also joined the IPTC (International Press Telecommunications Council), a global standards body of the news media, to align ourselves with pre-existing news standards, and to create a standard for blockchain-based news.

We became a proud member of WAN-IFRA.

In the same month, we joined WAN-IFRA, a global association of newspaper publishers with a network of over 3,000 news publishing companies, media technology entrepreneurs, and 80 publisher associations representing 18,000 publications in 120 countries. We were invited to its annual summit Publish Asia 2019 to share how blockchain technology might be used to solve the complex problems that the newspaper industry faces in securing financial sustainability without sacrificing editorial independence.

Sonny Kwon, CEO of PUBLISH, Inc., speaking at Publish Asia 2019 in Singapore

And also partnered with Onchain.

In May, we entered into a strategic partnership with Onchain to help get PUBLISHprotocol onboard as a global media platform dApp on Ontology, the enterprise counterpart to Onchain’s community-powered blockchain platform NEO. Further details regarding being accepted into a business incubation program and multi-chain possibility will be announced in due time.

We were accepted into the 2019 IP Narae Program.

In May, PUBLISH, Inc. was accepted into the 2019 IP Narae Program and awarded a grant of 24.6 million KRW (South Korean won) for consulting services related to the development of its intellectual property. The grant was supported by the SBA (Seoul Business Agency), a Seoul Metropolitan Government-funded support institution for small and medium-sized enterprises.

We launched PUBLISHadvertising.

Finally, we are excited to announce the official launch of PUBLISHadvertising, an ad agency and an official partner of PUBLISHsoft. What this means is that all publishers running on PUBLISHsoft now have the additional option of monetizing their platforms by having PUBLISHadvertising handle the planning, sourcing, implementation, and management of ads on their platforms.

In the future, we plan to grow PUBLISHadvertising into an ad network that sells advertising space directly to advertisers. And as our PUBLISHsoft clientbase grows so will our advertising inventory and our ability to negotiate the best rates for member publishers. Advertisers will further be able to purchase discounted advertising space in NEWS.