Online Journalism Review» Sogole Honarvar

New Yahoo News design

Sogole Honarvar — Thu, 28 Apr 2005 22:21:42 +0000

Via I Want Media: Reuters reports that Yahoo News has changed its Web site, adding more features such as advanced search technology and RSS personalization capabilities. The redesign has also added a “cleaner” design to the site and increased accessibility options throughout. New features of note include the ability to instant message stories, search for key phrases or terms within a story without leaving the site and receive personalized RSS feeds to both Yahoo-partnered and non-partnered Web sites. The site’s biggest competitor is Google News, who, in contrast to Yahoo, does not advertise on their site.

Startup to offer legit online media for free

Sogole Honarvar — Tue, 26 Apr 2005 12:45:19 +0000

Via I Want Media: SFGate.com reports that a new startup, Open Media Network(OMN), will be offering free video blogs, TV shows, podcasts and radio broadcasts online. The OMN will focus on content that is authorized for online distribution, therefore circumventing illegal piracy issues. Current offerings include “Spark,” a weekly San Francisco arts TV show, podcasts from WNYC and Northwest Public Radio and independent, short films from underground Web sites.

Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy goes mobile

Sogole Honarvar — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 14:15:20 +0000

From Reuters: In conjunction with this month’s theatrical release of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” the BBC has launched H2G2, a wi-fi mobile service that allows users access to information about the anything, including the galaxy. The service is updated by users, in a similar way to Wikipedia, although H2G2 predates the popular online encyclopedia, as it was launched in 1999 by author Douglas Adams. The BBC took over the service in 2001 and is now making the mobile capability available to anyone with a mobile wireless device.

In online news, time is of the essence

Sogole Honarvar — Tue, 19 Apr 2005 13:06:47 +0000

Immediately following today’s Papal election, Google News posted two stories regarding the event: One true and one inaccurate. According to CNET News, the top story on the news aggregator site from The New York Times read: “Cardinals Continue Conclave After Second Inconclusive Ballot.” Underneath this headline followed a correct one from The Guardian, reading: “Cardinals Elect New Pope.” This sort of snafu highlights attention to the ever-changing nature of online news that must continually strive for currency and clarity. Wikipedia, the well-known online encyclopedia where users can update information, also posted news about the Papal election. However, the site carried the disclaimer: “This article or section contains references to a current or ongoing event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.”

Adobe Systems to acquire Macromedia

Sogole Honarvar — Tue, 19 Apr 2005 12:59:01 +0000

Adobe Systems announced Monday its $3.4 billion deal to acquire competitor Macromedia, The Mercury News reports. The deal will provide Adobe Systems, maker of Acrobat and Photoshop, with more digital publishing tools, such as Flash and FreeHand. Some graphic artists and online publishers worry, however, about the effect the merger will have on their favorite Macromedia programs. Still, the merger boosts Adobe’s strength in areas such as mobile devices markets and the lucrative and growing Flash market.

Daily Kos founder hits home run with baseball blogs

Sogole Honarvar — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 13:38:26 +0000

Via I Want Media: Niche blogging is becoming more popular than ever, as series of blogs surrounding one issue are beginning to pop up online. The New York Times reports that Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, founder of popular political blog Daily Kos, has taken his love for sports and blogging to a new level. Moulitsas has built SportsBlogs, a series of blogs about specific baseball teams throughout the nation. “I realized that blogs were really effective for partisan audiences. One of them is sports. Sports is huge…” said Moulitsas. While the project is still in its infancy, each SportsBlogs site sees an average of $3000 a month in revenues, and just about as many visitors–a welcome shock for Moulitsas. The blogger says he has plans to venture into other areas of sports as well, such as tennis and cycling. But he warns about the nature of these sports blogs: “I never claimed to be anything more than a fan. Anybody who comes [to the blog] to read an unbiased opinion, they’re at the wrong site.”

AP announces plans to charge for online content

Sogole Honarvar — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 13:27:52 +0000

The Associated Press announced plans Monday to begin charging for access to its online content beginning Jan. 1, 2006. Editor and Publisher Online reports that AP president and CEO, Tom Curley, announced at a Newspaper Association of America conference that the news service has no choice but to begin charging for the re-purposing of their content, given the growing and prominent nature of the Internet and online news consumption today. “We must be able to preserve the value and enforce the rights of our intellectual property across the media spectrum,” said Curley. The shift in policy has not yet been detailed, but Curley suggested temporarily cutting back on some membership fee increases in order to offset the cost for newspapers and broadcasters who access AP content. The policy will include all AP products, such as stories, photographs and audio/video.

Bogus blogs pose dangerous threat

Sogole Honarvar — Fri, 15 Apr 2005 14:52:35 +0000

A number of ‘bogus blogs’ are starting to pop up online, posing virus threats and identity theft issues for readers. The BBC News reports that these blogs use keylogging software and viruses to infect visitors’ computers and allow for the stealing of sensitive information, such as bank account numbers and social security digits. The blogs are not easy to stumble upon accidentally, as a perpetrator must e-mail or instant message a link to the blog in order for any damage to occur. Still, roughly 200 of these bogus blogs are floating around on the Web, circumventing traditional virus protection software because of their ability to evade filtering systems.

Yahoo HotJobs partners with MediaNews

Sogole Honarvar — Fri, 15 Apr 2005 14:22:19 +0000

From Editor and Publisher Online: MediaNews, owner and operator of 50 newspapers and sites such as The Daily News of Los Angeles and The Denver Post, has partnered with Yahoo HotJobs in an effort to provide more targeted job advertising online. The deal synchronizes job ads on MediaNews Web sites with those of HotJobs, which allows for the targeting of a wider range of jobs at a localized level. “Our breadth of job seekers coupled with our searching and matching capabilities creates a more valuable experience for advertisers,” said Yahoo HotJobs executive vice president and general manager Dan Finnigan.

Media buying agency to focus on blogs

Sogole Honarvar — Tue, 12 Apr 2005 12:06:41 +0000

Via I Want Media: Carat Interactive, a media buying company, is turning its focus to blogs. ClickZ News reports that the company will start tracking blogs in three areas: blog advertising, blog creation and blog monitoring. “We see it as the fastest growing area of the Internet,” said John Cate, vice president and national media director. “We’re interested in it, our clients are interested in it. We see it as a great opportunity for two-way communication between our clients and their consumers.” The new practice will lend blog knowledge to the entire agency, hoping to utilize it for all clients.