Hello Gatherers:
We have been kicking-around an idea internally and I would love your perspective on it. Rather than do a traditional survey, I thought it would be good to have a conversation. I will try to give a brief overview of our thinking here and then will circle back to answer any questions as well.
By now, most of us have heard about the failure of a handful of local newspapers like The Rocky Mountain News, which stopped publishing entirely, and the Seattle Post Intelligencer, which stopped printing and moved to an online-only edition. Recently, questions have been raised about the future of a number of papers, including stalwarts like The Boston Globe, The Minneapolis Star Tribune and The San Francisco Chronicle. Many in the industry believe the newspaper business model itself is broken and that only a few papers may survive.
At the same time, we have noticed that many Gather members like to talk a lot about current events. Members often cite news found across the web here and then share opinions about that news. They link to, cite, and even report on the specific news that interests them. Recently, one active Gatherer told me that he is much more likely to discuss the news here on Gather than he is on newspaper sites, because he likes the conversations he has with the friends on Gather and he doesn't know anyone on those sites.
So here's my question: would you like it if we arranged to have news (from the Associated Press, New York Times, Reuters, Washington Post, or other sources) appear here on Gather? Would you choose to read the news here? Would you be likely to discuss it? If so, what sources would you most like to see?
Let me answer a few questions that may come up early:
1) We could have multiple sources for news to increase breadth of perspective
2) News would be tagged, so you could find relevant stuff easily
3) We would put news into a group so that it wouldn't push other content off the page
4) News sources would not compete for points with members, so this would not affect points earning opportunities.
5) We could consider different formats (articles, photos, and/or videos) for news
So what do you think? Would this be news you could use?
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 121
We would, if we did this, eventually want to grow it to a wide variety of sources, so you could see news from a variety of different perspectives.
Does that make sense?
I have "My Yahoo" homepage set up with all the news that I view on a daily basis from local, national to world news. I love being able to make my page the way I want it. This way I do not have to search through a bunch of stuff that does not interest me.
I even have my favorite Gather members posts on my RSS on My Yahoo page. I am the kind of person who likes to have control over what I see and what I am exposed too. I love keeping up with the news but only the sections that interest me.
Now my answers to your question:
I am willing to give it a try as to reading the news on Gather but I do wish there was some way to have more control over the way it is set up. Maybe have Reuters on one section, Washington Post in another section but yet have them all listed under News. That way we could just go to the News section and click on the media that interests us. Then find the latest news from that media.
I usually avoid links, though. I have slow speed.
I would rather have it set up by news source. That way it would be just like reading the paper, magazine itself. By subject I think it would just take too much time. The key for "me" is "quick and easy to find.
And if you offer news I would absolutely like it optional to be notified, I personally opt out of all notifications from any news related site and would not have any interest in being told about a new news article weather daily weekly or whatever. When I want to read news I will go to the source and browse.
I would also like to still be able to arite articles/photos etc referring to particular news stories and I think that these types of content would complement wherever you place the news That way members who have no interst would not be bothered by an article I write about a particular news story and it would not cross there feed if they also were placed where the news would be located provided it is separate from all of the other Gather content.
"We may make it possible to organize things both ways (by content source and topic)"
I'd like that. There are some topics I'd rather not see, and some I'd rather not see as often as news organizations like to run follow up stories. Having a lot of control is appealing.
I probably wouldn't use a notification system, as I already don't use notifications for most things, preferring to find them when I come to Gather.
My local paper in San Antonio has gone up to $250. I already have some favorite news sites, but would like the convenience of having news on Gather because I spend much time here.
I would also like for it to grow fast so that there would be more then one source that you buy the license for.
The licensing approach works well with me.
Because of the economy I stopped getting all but the NY Times as You can't beat doing the crossword puzzle on newsprint over a cup of coffee, and the papers at the library do not want you to do the puzzles. This is one of my little luxuries in still receiving a paper, but if food and gas continue to rise I will have to stop that too.
it would by far be better for you to have it available than for the folks to keep, (and I myself have done this, sorry to say), pilfering the articles and copy & pasting them here... eventually somebody could get a hassle about it.
See Richard B.'s as an example...
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977680869
not singling out Richard, as I say, I've done it too.
Lloyd
Please, do not leave out nature, conservation of our resources, animals and things to do with Mother Earth. IMHO this is one Gather Essential already missing.
When i say that news sources would not compete for points, I mean that they would not earn a share of the points available to our members. In other words, they would not be taking a piece of the pie themselves. Does that make sense?
Just no FOX.
I wonder if it would cut down on the copyrighted news articles that are stolen and posted here, often without attribution? If so, that would be a good thing.
Nevertheless, the more ways people can connect with the news and views of others and help them become more informed, the better. My daughter regularly reads the Chicago Tribune on her Kindle.
I hope you don't bring any news here from cable channels, as they seem more editorial than anything else.
Also, would there be comment sections under the specific news articles from these sources, where we can discuss the specific article without seeking member's articles addressing it? Would members receive points by viewing and commenting on these news articles?
I would definitely try it out, but could not say for sure that I'd stick with it. --- Now, up to read comments.
I don't think you could match the varied views I look at. So I don't think I would be to interested in it.
I also think that having Reuters and AP on board would be helpful - but news is made outwith the USA, too!
You're right, Tim. I guess my concern is that people who currently post that kind of commentary as original articles might feel they have to start posting it as a comment in the discussion following the news article if they want it to be read.
"I am hoping that members will start to contribute more news, the stuff that the wire services cannot cover (hyper local, hyper topical stuff) if we cover the primary sources."
OK, I see where you're going with this. Sounds like an interesting idea. I think it's worth looking into, at least on a trial basis.
People don't come to Gather for the news. The web is already saturated with that type of venue, and Gather will have no competitive edge. Gather's 'news page' will just be one more 'news page.'
I suspect Gatherites will continue to discuss the news in their own private circles, regardless of whether the content resides on Gather or elsewhere.
But, if you have a hankerin' to create yet another news website, knock yourself out.
But this will make me lose interest: 1) if anyone can post and 2) if the group is not STRICTLY moderated. I quit groups that say their subject matter is one thing but allow anyone to post anything because the group owner can't be bothered to weed out unrelated posts.
Give the members a point for every time someone follows their link, or compensate them in some other appropriate way. The links could be listed by order of popularity. Have 'top 100' or 'full view' options, similar to Gather's 'People' link.
This would greatly increase the likelihood that the content is relevant and interesting to members. It would also reduce the effort the role of moderator. Instead of trying to find interesting content, they could simply filter, and perhaps categorize, recommendations.
This would also increase the number of views, because people would visit the site to see how "their" link was doing, and while they were there, they would likely visit other links. Not sure if it matters whether the content is hosted on Gather or elsewhere.
That's the thought at a high level. I'm not savvy enough to recommend the particulars.
I like my news from a variety of sources NPR-local TV channel - Wall Street Journal - CNN - NYT - Reuters - AP and certainly from World News ... just browsing on line.:)
Definitely keep it separate from the feeds and add it only if it makes sense for you from a business viewpoint. It seems social sites in general are incorporating the daily news because when you socialize with others current events do come up.