Google PR sends a message that they have a new News service. Maybe I’m slow this morning, or maybe I’m spoiled, but what’s the big deal. I thought they already had this. My personal aggregator is better, it shows me what I’m interested in, it’s not one size fits all. Help me figure this out. I’m sure there’s something innovative here, I just don’t see it.
0.They did already have this feature, it has been a public beta for a while, but it wasn’t featured on the front page and was undergoing revisions.
1. You just need a web browser to use it, not an install of Radio.
2. All the feeds are already there, you don’t have to find them and subscribe to them.
3. It groups stories on the same subject together.
*4. The search feature lets you are intersted in right NOW, not what you were interested in whenever you last updated your newsfeed subscriptions.*
The front page is nice, but judging from the way the product evolved during the beta, the news search feature is the main point, not the standard front page.
Scroll down to the bottom of the front page of news.google.com. Read the fine print. It says “This page was generated entirely by computer algorithms without human editors.” Think about that. Use the search functionality. Think what they can built on this foundation.