The project technical overview for AMP has the goals and basic info. In a nutshell, the new format encourages a return to more bare-bones HTML, with some added functionality for common web patterns. On the balance between bloated ad platforms and user experience:
"Embedding an ad or analytics often implies giving up control of what eventually happens to a site because they can typically inject any JavaScript they want into pages. AMP HTML does not allow this. We realize that both ads and analytics are an important element of monetization on the web, and so we need to support them: our goal is to realign monetization with great user experience."
Instead, “tracking pixels” are used for analytics. These should be easily skipped by ad blockers, but apps that support AMP will need to use a custom web view anyway, where ad blockers on iOS aren’t allowed. This may continue to limit the appeal of Safari View Controller.
Wired covers the announcement and describes how AMP might be integrated into Twitter and other native apps:
"One surprise beneficiary of AMP may be Twitter. While it’s not a publisher per se, it’s becoming an increasingly important player in news, most recently with the launch of its Moments feature, which makes news easier to follow on Twitter by organizing Tweets in a chronological, coherent timeline. Now, Twitter will automatically load any articles that are compatible with AMP as AMP files, meaning they will benefit from the same speed inside the Twitter app."
There’s more on GitHub. On the surface this seems like a more open approach than Facebook Instant Articles or maybe even Apple News Format (which is finally public). That WordPress is supporting AMP is a good sign.
