Adding to the trend of large media conglomerates and proven companies (Fox, eBay, Yahoo, Condes Nast) dipping into the social networking, bookmarking and news sharing pie, MSNBC has acquired Newsvine, the social news and discussion site, for an undisclosed price.
And remember, MSNBC stands for Microsoft & NBC. With the purchase, Microsoft adds to its selection of search and web properties, gains a new platform to advertise on (they have an ad contract with Digg too) and showcase Live Search on. NBC (or MSNBC) gains a brandable news site which Keith Olberman will probably be plugging much more often than Bill O’Reilly ever plugs MySpace (owned by his boss).
What does this mean for Newsvine? From the Newsvine Blog:
Newsvine will continue operating independently, just as it has been since launching in March of 2006. Msnbc.com is committed to maintaining and growing the community and features that have made Newsvine what it is today. In other words, Newsvine will be the same Newsvine you’ve always known, only stronger. Over the next few years, Newsvine technology and content will make its way onto msnbc.com, and vice-versa where it makes sense. Our users’ columns and content will remain as they have been, as we work hard with msnbc.com to implement improvements and enhancements.
So, with Delicious, Newsvine, StumbleUpon and Reddit all being acquired over the past couple of years, when will Digg sell? How fast? And to who?
