We’re so future-of-news hardcore we’re delivering your Friday roundup on a Thursday. Welcome to tomorrow.
- Is the “Great Embeddening” upon us? The future of the internet may rely less on hyperlinks, and more on embedded content.
- Where’s your traffic coming from? Adrienne LaFrance reports that for some of the major national news sites like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, a majority of visitors are coming in through the side door instead of the homepage.
- Lauren Kirchner took one for the team and watched 12 hours of the Huffington Post’s new web TV channel, HuffPost Live. The verdict? “Spoiler alert: I do not recommend doing this.”
- They all specialize in “viral” content, but BuzzFeed, Digg, and Reddit have their own unique personalities:
When democracy rules, as in Reddit and Digg, (where all content is ranked by vote), viewers minds’ are filled with international news, heavily biased social commentary (feminist, pro-gay marriage), and geek pride. When Buzzfeed’s editorial eyes cover the Internet, cute animal pics, celebrity gossip, and political horse-race stories rule the front page … Reddit is a fantastic source for the personal perspectives that can get lost in the process of disinterested journalism.
- BuzzFeed goes to Washington.
- Rural newspaper publishers are still reluctant to put their content online.
- “The Price of Great Journalism”: How an article (and its accompanying video/photo package) covering the Syria conflict convinced Abu Muqawama that the New York Times was worth paying for.
- Is Buzzmedia making a play for local? Former GeoCities COO Stephen Hansen has been hired as president.
- Independent hyperlocal news sites have started their own trade association: Local Independent Online News Publishers (LION).
- Paul Rand on the politics of design. (h/t: Josh Curry)
- Daily deals are in decline, but coupons and discounts will live forever, says one analyst.
- And finally, “where fucks were given,” a dynamic heatmap of which cities lead the nation in tweeting the F-bomb.
