Also: Blinkx hires 4 new execs | Mew Macs | Independent to join ABCEs | Facebook watch
Plans are afoot to introduce a feature on Google News that would invite the subjects of new stories to comment on whether the piece is any good enough. It's enough to make journalists give up the ghost.
The Google News blog explains:
"Our long-term vision is that any participant will be able to send in their comments, and we'll show them next to the articles about the story. Comments will be published in full, without any edits, but marked as "comments" so readers know it's the individual's perspective, rather than part of a journalist's report."
"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."
It's a fascinating idea and I hope it works. It's a fair way to offer a right of reply, though arguably that reply should be with the original published piece and not selectively for those who read through Google News.
But how many of those comments will be nauseating PRs for corporations who struggle with the concept that journalists are not simply an extension of their PR machine? They won't, I suspect, be adding very much to the picture.
It adds a whole new layer to the issue of comments around straight news stories, as opposed to comments around opinion pieces - generally regarded as a more comfortable fit.
No doubt the objective is some far more wily and lucrative plan to build traffic, and therefore revenues, in some roundabout form. Too clever by half.
Alas, this is US only for now, so we'll have to wait longer for the pleasure of trying it out.
Blinkx hires 4 new execs
Blinkx, the video search company, has poached Marco Nadotti from Babelgum to sign media partnerships in Europe. John Bryan also joins from MediaZone.com to head up content acquisition in the US, Gavin Morgan to head up syndication strategy and Onil Gunawardana to head strategy and development on AdHoc, the company's video ad platform. All the appointments are part of the expansion since Blinkx floated on the London Stock Exchange in May.
New Macs
Even if you're not interested in the gadgetry and the shiny, shiny hardware, you have to admire the sheer efficiency of Engadget's live blogging, conducted with military precision from 8:51am in sunny California.
Independent to join the ABCEs
The Independent is joining the monthly ABCEs - the web auditors run by the web publishing industry. Guardian Unlimited, Times Online, the Telegraph and Sun Online have been the only four newspapers to stick to benchmarking their traffic figures every month - give or take a month for Times Online over its relaunch wobble - so the more news sites that join in, the better. ABCE said there's no date for the first Indy audit. (Brand Republic)
Facebook watch
08:22: On Radio 4's Today programme - home to John Hymprys infamous "Facepack" reference - presenters and Giles Brandreth divert from Foot & Mouth to talk about Scrabulous, Facebook's Scrabble application.
The Sun: Argos has sacked an employee who called the company "shite" on Facebook. Call a spade a spade, I say. (Argos owes me £43, bastards.)
