NEWS MEDIA IS CHANGING FAST - JUST LOOK AT SCOOOP.NET
It looks like there is another site, other than Digg.com and
Slashdot, in the new media space of viewer controlled content.
Scooop.net is an internet site where you can cast a vote for
your favorite news stories. Meet Scooop.net (www.scooop.net)
which focuses on such news topics as politics, entertainment,
and health & wellness. Scooop.net, a consumer generated media
site based on democratic voting principles and active
participation of its members, has been launched to challenge
Digg.com, which just received a 2.8 million dollar investment by
eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar and Netscape co-founder Marc
Andreessen.
In Touch Media Group, a leading supplier of online marketing
services, created the site after completing a nationwide market
research study, which revealed a huge demand for a new type of
media outlet where consumers dictate the site content. Bob
Cefail, Chairman of In Touch Media Group, says the company made
the decision to move forward on Scooop.net after successfully
developing services designed to harness the power of consumer
generated media.
In Touch Media Group chose not to go head to head with Digg.com,
in terms of the technology niche, after performing extensive
research to identify the most popular areas of interest for the
general public. "There is clearly a pent up demand by the
general public for a news and information outlet that serves
their interest more closely," states Cefail. "After exhaustive
research, involving over 1,100 interviews, it was clear that the
technology field, which has been the focus of Digg's efforts,
wasn't the most popular area of interest for the general public.
Cefail goes on to say that 66% of those who were initially
interviewed were interested in entertainment versus only 40% for
technology. The health & wellness field was the second most
popular area category garnering Interest from over 60% of those
interviewed. "An astonishing 90% of those who were initially
surveyed wanted to be contacted immediately upon the launch of
the site," reveals Cefail. "We do a significant amount of online
marketing research work for our clients and we have never seen
such a level of interest - never!"
In its first 5 days, after the November 15th, 2005 launch,
Scooop.net was visited by over 15,000 people and the site broke
the top 5000 most trafficked web sites in the world according to
Alexa.com, an Amazon.com business unit that measures web site
activity. "The excitement this site is generating is mind
numbing", states Cefail. After one sees some of the article
posts it is easy to see why people go to the site.
There are several unique features that Scooop.net possesses
which other sites like Digg.com do not. The member who posts the
most popular news item in a given week wins $500. Scooop.net
also contains a "Hot Topics" section where members can speak
their minds about the most controversial news items of the week.
The topic covered by Scooop.net during its first week of
operation involved whether the oil companies were actually
causing the current energy crisis.
I would look out for Scooop.net in the future as it ventures
into news subjects that the mainstream media would normally stay
away from. After all, as the web sites states, this is news of
the people, by the people, and for the people.
Bruce Prokopets Executive Editor Press Direct International