Google has launched a revamped version of its Google News service in the USA which allows users to personalise the news content on offer using the “News for You” feature. This addition allows for a stream of top stories to be automatically filtered to match as closely as possible the individual user's interests.
This relaunch came just days before Yahoo rolled out their Upshot service, a news provider which bases its content on search generated data collected from across the Yahoo sites.
Whilst the improved Google News relies on users informing the search engine of their preferences manually, Yahoo derive this knowledge from the search patterns of the users on the Yahoo sites.
Additional features of the updated Google News service include the collation of various content relating to the most popular searches of the day. On top of this, users are able to share news content with ease via social media networks including Twitter, Buzz, Facebook and Reader, thus increasing the reach of news content, and in turn driving more traffic to the original site.
The traditional system of online news provision comprised of editors selecting what they thought were the most important stories of the day. With Yahoo Upshot however, analysts will examine which keywords and phrases are popular amongst users before passing the information over to the writing team. The commentators will then create and publish articles which correspond to the topics which are of greatest interest to the readers at any given time.
James Pitaro, vice president of Yahoo Media insists that the new process will benefit Yahoo and give it the edge over their competitors due to its ability to aggregate data. The Upshot blog will use Yahoo's comprehensive search data to inform and influence the editorial decisions being made. As Pitaro explained, Upshot will provide content “in response to audience insight”.
With up-to-date knowledge of the subjects users are interested in and are searching for, Yahoo have the capacity to offer more relevant and desirable news stories to their readers. Furthermore, by providing stories which are in keeping with the most popular search trends of the moment, greater amounts of traffic will be driven to the Upshot blog site.
For both search engine companies, the aim is a collective one; to provide the most relevant and up to date information at any given time, and for every individual. Both have employed different strategies in their efforts to achieve this goal, with Yahoo incorporating SEO methods and Google giving total control to the user at the point of their visit to the website. Only time will tell which technique will pay off.
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