Google Gives Voice to the Quoted
Being a blogger in this digital age of citizen journalism and social networking, I've become thick-skinned about criticism some of you post. Anyway, I like that many of you challenge what I have to say.
Google has taken it a step further yesterday by introducing a feature that allows comments on news stories - from the people who are mentioned in those stories. News stories and blog entries on washingtonpost.com, as well as many other blogs and sources of news, have long offered a chance for readers to chime in.
In a test that begins this week, Google will allow comments only from the people in the story and will post those comments along side entries on Google News. As a journalist, I welcome this feedback. Often, our sources have been less than happy with stories we've written about them. And I can't tell you how many times I've heard from sources who were disappointed that some detail that came up during an interview didn't make the story.
In a blog entry, the Google News team wrote, "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."
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August 9, 2007; 6:01 AM ET
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Sam Diaz
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Posted by: Helen Huntley | August 9, 2007 12:36 PM
How is this part of Google's mission? Doesn't Google have other things to pour resources into?
Posted by: Ben | August 9, 2007 03:19 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
I think this is a great idea, but how are they going to verify that the person making the comment is the person quoted in the story?