Today Terry Heaton posted about how inside sources have tipped him off about MySpace making a social news play, fortifying them as more of an informational and 2.0 oriented portal and hopefully bringing about some maturity to MySpace.
Of course, and despite what loyal Digg users may tell you, this is no “We want to be the next Digg!” scenario. MySpace is owned by Fox Interactive and Fox Interactive’s parent company is News Corp.
Essentially, MySpace is owned by one of, if not the, largest news media conglomerates on a global scale, so incorporating a social news aspect makes perfect sense.
Here’s an overview of MySpace’s news plans:
* MySpace News takes News to a whole new level by dynamically aggregating real-time news and blogs from top sites around the Web
* Creates focused, topical news pages that users can interact and engage with throughout their day
* MySpace is making the news social, allowing users to:
Rate and comment on every news item that comes through the system
Submit stories they think are cool and even author pieces from their MySpace blog
* MySpace users previously had to leave the site to find comprehensive news, gossip, sporting news, etc. With MySpace News, we bring the news to them!
It will be interesting to see how much play MySpace News will give to non-Fox properties (kind of like the initial coverage AOL’s Netscape gave to Weblogs Inc Blogs). I’d also like to see where MySpace mega-partner Google will come into the picture.
Will Fox Sports News outrank CNN/SI when reporting about steroids scandals or Super Bowl coverage?
Will Keith Olberman videos take the backseat to Bill O’Reilly?
These questions won’t be answered until MySpace News launches, but with their new directions in free Fox television episodes and MySpace Video hoping to rival YouTube, a social news channel is the practical next step; especially with a maturing and aging MySpace userbase.
