In online news, time is of the essence

April 19, 2005 By Leave a Comment

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.”

Filed Under: Events

Adobe Systems to acquire Macromedia

April 19, 2005 By Leave a Comment

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.

Filed Under: Business

Daily Kos founder hits home run with baseball blogs

April 18, 2005 By Leave a Comment

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.”

Filed Under: Sites
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »