Currently Google News has enormous value in one very important area. Linking Directly. You Click a Google Link, You go to the source. No bullshit, no stops for Very Important Commercial Interruptions. My Yahoo, who used to be the top of the heap, and is running distantly in the dust, links you to another page on Yahoo for the rest of the story, which usually requires a couple of additional clicks to get to the source. Yahoo’s game is to display advertising, which is the only game in town over there for making money.
Google on the other hand, does many other things, and has millions of text link ad sharecroppers, doing the heavy lifting. (yes i is a sharecropper too, they are over there somewhere. No I still have a day job, thanks for asking)
Never let it be said that Google will not try new things. Their latest foray into increasing their popularity is allowing commentary on the news page .
This is their explanation;
As always, Google News will direct readers to the professionally-written articles and news sources our algorithms have determined are relevant for a topic. From bloggers to mainstream journalists, the journalists who help create the news we read every day occupy a critical place in the information age. But we’re hoping that by adding this feature, we can help enhance the news experience for readers, testing the hypothesis that — whether they’re penguin researchers or presidential candidates– a personal view can sometimes add a whole new dimension to the story.
Google News Blog
Hope in one hand, shit in the other. Bring toilet paper..
Giving Google Editorial Control, and that is exactly what it is, can only damage everyone involved. The Reporters, The Reported, and Google. This can only end badly. He said, She said…….. Turning Every News Story into Opinion Pieces and Flame Wars. As soon as they step into this quagmire, Safe Harbor vanishes. They will no longer be conduits, but become gatekeepers. Probably end up spending more money on Libel Suits than Copyright Infringement.
There is no magic opinion algorithm. You need a brain to form and have an opinion, and as anybody with the brains your higher power gave to gerbils can attest, people come with a lot of baggage. Maybe they will build two new sites, Google Left and Google Right. One Red, One Blue.
So you do not think I am a total nabob of negativity, there is a bright light with this experiment, however brief.
PR folks are having major strokes over the idea that folks can speak and discuss things directly. OMG!!! No More Crafted Messages! No More Press Releases!! No More Crisis Management!!!! What are we going to do with all that Spin Control in the Storeroom?????
Besides, anything that makes Steve Rubel cry like a baby makes me happy.