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  Google News Gets Personal With 'News for You'

  JP 11:05 am on July 3, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: google (193), nbsp (1,691), news, personalized news, preferred media, Read (1,473)

  Filed under: Google, Web

  

  Google News got a major overhaul last night, and, as you’d expect, the site’s major changes revolve around user autonomy. The news aggregation site now lets you choose to view stories in headline or section view, and, with the help of a drop-down menu, more easily shares stories on Facebook, Twitter, Buzz or Reader. The revamped version of Google News will also provide more local news and events, which will be displayed in a unique section of the page.

  But the real centerpiece of Google’s renovation is a feature called ‘News for you,’ which Google describes as “a stream of headlines automatically tailored to your interests.” The site will now automatically remember your preferences each time you log in, and will offer you a customized feed, giving priority to your preferred media outlets. In the event that Google’s notions are off base, you can fine tune them by going to the ‘Edit personalization’ box, where you can edit your news stream according to specific topics. If the idea of personalized news feeds doesn’t sit well with you, you can always opt out of the service by selecting the ‘Reset personalization’ option.

  Continue reading Google News Gets Personal With ‘News for You’

  Google News Gets Personal With ‘News for You’ originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Web News Reading Trumps Print in U.S., Finds Pew Poll

  JP 12:51 am on March 4, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: content consumption, nbsp (1,691), news, percent (16), pew internet and american life (4), pew internet and american life project (6), Read (1,473), U.S. (109)

  Filed under: Cell Phones, Web, Social Networking

  

  A new poll from the Pew Internet and American Life Project shows that Internet news sources continue to command more U.S. readers than both local and national newspapers. The Web overtook newspapers in 2008, and has only lengthened its lead, with 61-percent of adults saying they get at least some news online.

  More important than the Web’s growing popularity as a news source, though, is how users are interacting with it. People are becoming more active participants in the news cycle, with 37-percent saying they have created, commented on, or shared links pertaining to news content. Consumption is also mobilizing and becoming more personal; 33-percent of cell phone owners use their handsets to consume news, and 28-percent of surfers create customized homepages. The Internet has also increased the number of news sources that the average user reads; only 21-percent rely on a single outlet.

  Continue reading Web News Reading Trumps Print in U.S., Finds Pew Poll

  Web News Reading Trumps Print in U.S., Finds Pew Poll originally appeared on Switched on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Journalists Get Locked in Farmhouse With Only Access to Facebook, Twitter

  JP 12:52 am on January 25, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: french farmhouse (2), Haiti (14), huffington post (12), nbsp (1,691), Networking (65), news, Read (1,473), social networking sites (55)

  Filed under: Web, Social Networking

  

  We’ve all heard stories about how social networking sites are the newest and most reliable way to break news. But just how true is this claim? That’s the question that a group of five European journalists hope to answer. According to AFP, these journalists will lock themselves in a French farmhouse for five days, beginning February 1st, and limit their communications with the outside world to Facebook and Twitter. The goal of this experiment is to determine how accurately and how quickly the social networking sites deliver news to users. To ensure they don’t cheat, the journalists will surrender their smartphones for regular “dumb” phones, and will be given computers with blank hard drives. It’ll be up to tweets, Wall posts, status updates, and retweets to keep these journalists aware of happenings in the outside world.

  We don’t need to lock ourselves in a farmhouse to figure out how this experiment will end. Twitter broke a lot of news on the earthquake in Haiti, so, if the journalists follow credible accounts like The New York Times or Huffington Post, it’s quite possible they’ll stay adequately connected. But it’s also possible that they’ll simply spend those five days playing flash games, reading lists, and watching cat videos. Because, really, what else is social networking good for? [From: AFP/Yahoo News]

  Journalists Get Locked in Farmhouse With Only Access to Facebook, Twitter originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Journalists Get Locked in Farmhouse With Only Access to Facebook, Twitter

  JP 12:52 am on January 24, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: french farmhouse (2), Haiti (14), huffington post (12), nbsp (1,691), Networking (65), news, Read (1,473), social networking sites (55)

  Filed under: Web, Social Networking

  

  We’ve all heard stories about how social networking sites are the newest and most reliable way to break news. But just how true is this claim? That’s the question that a group of five European journalists hope to answer. According to AFP, these journalists will lock themselves in a French farmhouse for five days, beginning February 1st, and limit their communications with the outside world to Facebook and Twitter. The goal of this experiment is to determine how accurately and how quickly the social networking sites deliver news to users. To ensure they don’t cheat, the journalists will surrender their smartphones for regular “dumb” phones, and will be given computers with blank hard drives. It’ll be up to tweets, Wall posts, status updates, and retweets to keep these journalists aware of happenings in the outside world.

  We don’t need to lock ourselves in a farmhouse to figure out how this experiment will end. Twitter broke a lot of news on the earthquake in Haiti, so, if the journalists follow credible accounts like The New York Times or Huffington Post, it’s quite possible they’ll stay adequately connected. But it’s also possible that they’ll simply spend those five days playing flash games, reading lists, and watching cat videos. Because, really, what else is social networking good for? [From: AFP/Yahoo News]

  Journalists Get Locked in Farmhouse With Only Access to Facebook, Twitter originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  With Haiti In Ruins, Scammers Seek to Swindle Donors

  JP 11:54 am on January 18, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Haiti (14), hurricane katrina relief, hurricane katrina relief effort, Katrina, mail solicitations, nbsp (1,691), news, Read (1,473), Scammers

  Filed under: Cell Phones, Computers

  

  As aid pours from the coffers of international organizations and individuals, and into the earthquake-ravaged island of Haiti, some scumbag scammers are reportedly looking to take advantage of these donors, hoping to make a parasitic buck off of the tragedy. As FOX News reports, the devastating aftermath of Tuesday’s massive quake has seen not only a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, but a troubling rise in fake charitable organizations, as well.

  All Headline News recently warned, via Twitter, of “Haitian ‘text-to-donate’ scams,” and urged people to “only give to orgs you recognize, have researched yourself or are referred by trusted source.” The Federal Trade Commission also warns consumers to be wary of e-mail solicitations for donations, even if they may redirect to an ostensibly legit site, or if they make reference to other well-known charities. The Better Business Bureau posted an entire set of guidelines for ensuring your donation is safe, and reminds potential donors of the series of “advanced loan scams” that swindled so many contributors to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

  Continue reading With Haiti In Ruins, Scammers Seek to Swindle Donors

  With Haiti In Ruins, Scammers Seek to Swindle Donors originally appeared on Switched.com on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Schmidt to Newspapers: Google Can Help

  JP 10:00 pm on December 3, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Afghanistan (15), amp nbsp (6), Eric Schmidt (2), google (193), media mogul rupert murdoch, mogul rupert murdoch, Murdoch, nbsp (1,691), news, Read (1,473), Rupert Murdoch (2), Wall Street (30)

  Filed under: Google, Web

  

  Google News is a great tool for searching out the latest information about current events. But it’s no secret that some news outlets (particularly newspapers) are growing irate with their inability to cash in online like Google has. The search company is raking in cash from ads displayed alongside search results that link to news outlets’ stories. One notable media mogul, Rupert Murdoch, has threatened to remove all content produced by his various outlets from the Google index entirely.

  Murdoch gave Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, a chance to defend his company and explain how Google could actually help newspapers in an editorial published in the Wall Street Journal. Schmidt explains that far from being competitors, Google and newspapers are symbiotic organisms relying on one another to drive traffic, sell ads, and deliver content. Schmidt points out that while Google News generates a billion clicks per month for online news publishers (with an additional three billion coming from other Google tools) ads displayed alongside news searches generate only the tiniest fraction of the company’s revenue. And logically this makes sense — what ad could possibly seem appropriate when searching for “Afghanistan” or “car bomb?”

  Continue reading Schmidt to Newspapers: Google Can Help

  Schmidt to Newspapers: Google Can Help originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Local News Commits a Twitter-Induced Billboard FAIL

  JP 1:04 am on December 1, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Alabama (6), billboard (3), gang rape (2), local tv station (2), nbsp (1,691), news, Read (1,473), Twitter (176)

  Filed under: Web, Social Networking

  

  We understand why the mainstream media would want to take every opportunity they can to let the world know that they’re on Twitter. After all, Twitter’s “hip,” right? Sometimes, though, they can get a bit overzealous, go on a blind, Beckettian tweeting rampage — and commit a massively hilarious fail in the process.

  Such is the case for one local TV station in Mobile, Alabama that had the great idea of putting up live news tweets on their electronic roadside billboard, which featured three of the channel’s anchors. Good idea, except when the headline involved three people accused of gang rape, which ran directly opposite the trio of statically smiling broadcasters. The implication, of course, being… well, obvious.

  Continue reading Local News Commits a Twitter-Induced Billboard FAIL

  Local News Commits a Twitter-Induced Billboard FAIL originally appeared on Switched on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Local News Commits a Twitter-Induced Billboard FAIL

  JP 12:53 am on December 1, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Alabama (6), billboard (3), gang rape (2), local tv station (2), nbsp (1,691), news, Read (1,473), Twitter (176)

  Filed under: Web, Social Networking

  

  We understand why the mainstream media would want to take every opportunity they can to let the world know that they’re on Twitter. After all, Twitter’s “hip,” right? Sometimes, though, they can get a bit overzealous, go on a blind, Beckettian tweeting rampage — and commit a massively hilarious fail in the process.

  Such is the case for one local TV station in Mobile, Alabama that had the great idea of putting up live news tweets on their electronic roadside billboard, which featured three of the channel’s anchors. Good idea, except when the headline involved three people accused of gang rape, which ran directly opposite the trio of statically smiling broadcasters. The implication, of course, being… well, obvious.

  Continue reading Local News Commits a Twitter-Induced Billboard FAIL

  Local News Commits a Twitter-Induced Billboard FAIL originally appeared on Switched on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Details of Facebook's New Homepage Design Revealed

  JP 10:59 am on October 21, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: activity stream, cheers and jeers, facebook (320), nbsp (1,691), new homepage design, news, Read (1,473)

  Filed under: Web, Social Networking

  

  Facebook changes are sure to garner both cheers and jeers from the social networking crowd. When news broke that the site would soon test a new homepage design, speculation ran wild but details were scarce. Now, some leaked information meant for advertisers has surfaced on Mashable, shedding more light on the redesign.

  The idea is simplicity. When logged in, instead of seeing real-time recent activity on the News Feed, you’ll see the new ‘Top News’ stream, which is supposed to be a highlight of things you’ve missed throughout the day. But you’ll still be able to switch over to the regular old ‘Recent Activity’ stream, updated in real time. This should make news navigation easier, as well as improve the site’s load time.

  Continue reading Details of Facebook’s New Homepage Design Revealed

  Details of Facebook’s New Homepage Design Revealed originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  CBS News Launches New '@KatieCouric' Web Show

  JP 1:55 am on September 24, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Beck (4), cbs and katie couric (2), celebrities tv (10), George Stephanopoulos (2), John McCain (2), Katie Couric (5), Ms. Couric, nbsp (1,691), news, Read (1,473), Rick Sanchez, Web (76)

  Filed under: Celebrities, TV, Web, Social Networking

  TV producers and news outlets have been working hard to figure out how best to leverage this whole social networking thing. So far, most efforts have been rather disappointing. Rick Sanchez kick-started CNN’s addiction to Twitter and Facebook, before the network quickly veered into complete self-parody, by replacing reporting with tweeted opinions. Then, last year George Stephanopoulos used the micro-blog to interview John McCain with less than stellar results. Now, CBS and Katie Couric are looking to incorporate these powerful, but often misused, Web resources into a new show called ‘@KatieCouric.’

  Thankfully, despite what the title implies, the show will not feature Katie Couric interviewing news makers via Twitter, or feature Twitter at all. Instead, it will offer viewers live Webcasts of one-on-one interviews, along with the opportunity to engage via Facebook chat. Theoretically, the chat will allow viewers to sound off on topics and pose questions — though its unclear whether Ms. Couric will absorb the talk into the show. But, as anyone who has ever read comments on a blog could tell you, the ‘dialog’ will likely devolve into mindless shouting matches that would make even ‘@Couric’s’ first guest, Glenn Beck, seem like an insightful and rational commentator.

  Continue reading CBS News Launches New ‘@KatieCouric’ Web Show

  CBS News Launches New ‘@KatieCouric’ Web Show originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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