Pearson has announced that it is joining with its DK imprint to launch the Plug & Play Platform, an API (Application Programming Interface) initiative that will give both internal and third-party programmers and app developers access to the company’s databases and other material in order to create new kinds of products. The first dataset to be used in the program will be DK’s popular Eyewitness Travel Guide content.
APIs allow content owners to give developers a set of protocols, rules and permissions that give them access to specified datafeeds in order to create new information products easily and quickly. Pearson’s Plug & Play Platform is intended to make it easier to access Pearson content and attract developers to work on new digital products and new business models. The program will cover a wide variety of material; DK’s content can range from natural history and gardening to parenting, science, cooking and more.
Pearson’s Future Technologies Group Product Manager, Diana Stepner, said, “We recognize the world has changed and our content needs to be available for innovative uses outside Pearson. Plug & Play opens up opportunities for DK and Pearson to connect with developers who are seeking the rich content we can share.”
