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Google Adds News Personalization

Posted by samzenpus on from the what-doesn't-it-do dept.

downbad writes "ZDNet is reporting that the Google News home page is now customizable, allowing you to add or delete main news categories (such as business, sports and so on), as well as increasing or decreasing the number of headlines within a section. They've also introduced a feature that lets you create your own section using keywords for a topic that interests you."

11 of 242 comments (clear)

  1. Google devotion by northcat · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Would slashdot have reported this if it was Yahoo (or something else) which did this instead of Google?

    1. Re:Google devotion by Simon+(S2) · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Would slashdot have reported this if it was Yahoo (or something else) which did this instead of Google?


      No. Because if Yahoo! did it, it would be cluttered with ads and unusable, but if google does it, it is a new useful service that is interesting and makes intelligent use of new implementation of current technologies (like the drag&drop customization of the news items that interest you).
      --
      I just don't trust anything that bleeds for five days and doesn't die.
    2. Re:Google devotion by weierstrass · · Score: 4, Insightful
      No. Because if Yahoo! did it, it would be cluttered with ads and unusable, but if google does it, it is a new useful service that is interesting and makes intelligent use of new implementation of current technologies
      This is exactly the attitude that has turned the front page of /. into adspace for any new crap google think they're going to dominate the world with this week. Google provide a pretty decent search engine. In fact it's probably the best. This does not mean that their 'beta' email system is any better than anyone else's, that they are a benevolent company who love technology for it's own sake, that they are the future of the Internet, or indeed that they are trying to do anything other than maximise shareholder value by providing marketable web services.
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      my password really is 'stinkypants'
    3. Re:Google devotion by skraps · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Speaking of Yahoo, is anyone else afraid that Google will turn into Yahoo if they keep adding services?

      Every time they come out with something new, everyone says "oh cool, i'll use that!" But look at Yahoo's homepage after ten years of that business. I'm sure there are some good services in there, but it's hard to find them among all the ... other good services.

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      Karma: -2147483648 (Mostly affected by integer overflow)
    4. Re:Google devotion by Bobman1235 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This does not mean that their 'beta' email system is any better than anyone else's, that they are a benevolent company who love technology for it's own sake, that they are the future of the Internet, or indeed that they are trying to do anything other than maximise shareholder value by providing marketable web services.

      While I mostly agree with what your'e saying with regards to google's benevolence, you CAN'T argue that when they do things, they do them pretty well. They DO have the most useful and least obtrusive search engine. Their email system has the best interface I'VE ever used for a web client, and it's lightening fast compared to all the other biggies (yahoo, hotmail). Their new map system is really fast and easy to use - missing a few features, not ready for primetime, but still faster and easier than mapquest or yahoo! maps.

      The Slashdot community is acting like a bunch of little fan-boys--big surprise--but that doesn't mean that they're not at least in part correct. As long as google keeps doing things right, WHATEVER their motive (which is obviously to make money), peopel are gonna continue to love and praise them.

  2. Saw it this morning by Hamfist · · Score: 4, Insightful


    I think it's great. I'm a Canadian, currently in Chile, and in preparations for a move to Mexico. I am interested in US News, Canadian News, Mexican News, and International News. I could care less about Sports, Entertainment, and Health News, so I get rid of them. This is even better than workspaces for me.

    Good work google.

  3. Yahoo's been doing this for years... by orlinius · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What's exactly the news here?
    Yahoo's been doing this for years.

    Ah, I forgot, it's Google. Anything as much as a difference in the atmospheric pressure around the Google campus makes the front page on slashdot.

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    A hungry bear does not dance!
  4. Sub-Par by hamlet2600 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I honestly believe google is doing amazing things with internet based UIs, but this one leaves a lot to be desired. Its not very intuitive and I find it kind of hard to use. Its not nearly as elegant as gMail or as easy to use as Maps. I wonder why this one seems to be a shotty hack.

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    Sometimes I wish computers were less friendly.
  5. personalized news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "They've also introduced a feature that lets you create your own section using keywords for a topic that interests you."

    Can you say "Targeted advertising"?

  6. Re:im amazed ppl dont see the dangers by TheFlyingGoat · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Just like almost any other web service out there, if you're uncomfortable using it, don't sign up. That's pretty simple.

    Google News is good enough on its own without requiring the user to login and customize the search, so it's not like they're forcing you to provide your data. It's 100% opt-in.

    Additionally, since a free email account can be 100% anonymous (unless they subpoena your name from your ISP, which they can't do on their own), there's no way to link all that data to an actual person. Think Google is invading your privacy? Change your account once in a while or don't sign up to begin with.

    You tinfoil hat types need some common sense.

    --
    You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. --Winston Churchill
  7. Is Google still Google? by plasticmillion · · Score: 4, Insightful
    When I saw this story my initial reaction was to jump for joy. I'm an avid Google News user particularly because it's so "Googleized"; i.e. they use statistical methods to cluster stories together and figure out which ones to display where and in what order. Others may do this as well, but Google News does an exceptionally good job.

    So when I saw that they had added personalization, I assumed it was going to be something along the same lines, something that does my thinking FOR me, thank you very much. For example, wouldn't it be cool for the news page to adapt organically in response to stories you click on? So it would realize that I'm a golf fan (yeah, yeah, I'm even dorkier than the average /. user) and stop displaying all those NFL and hockey stories in the Sports section that I couldn't care less about.

    Instead, we get the same basic layout customization and keyword matching that Yahoo has had for years (as many others have pointed out). I scratched my head for a few minutes about keywords I could use, but frankly my tastes are a bit too subtle to sum up in this way.

    This could be a real story, but only if Google works a little of their statistical magic instead of taking a me-too approach.

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    Peer Pressure