This is a major step in the development towards a new age of news. Google News just got a lot more customisable and social.
One of the most popular elements of Google News is the different sections it offers, allowing you to browse news by topic. The problem was that you might not have been interested in what Google thought you should be.
Maybe you’re more a fan of Cat News or Sci-Fi News than the more traditional sections like ‘World News’, ‘Business’ or ‘Entertainment’. Well, now you can create your own news sections and share them with others. Yes, Google’s pretty much turning you into a news editor.
In the new Custom Sections Directory you can choose from a wide variety of pre-made custom sections, from Space to Open Source Software. Add these to your Google News Menu and you’ll have news relevant to your interests all the time without having to search for it.
If there’s not a pre-made section that suits you, it’s easy to make your own. By just typing in a name for your new section and adding some keywords you’ll get a preview of how the section will look. This preview is dynamic – it changes as you add and remove individual keywords.
Once you’re done you can keep it for yourself or publish it to the Google News directory for others to use.
The new functionality is currently available in Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
This is a major addition to Google News, turning what was rather dry into a much more social experience. No doubt Google-obsessive and online news expert Jeff Jarvis will soon be hailing it as another step towards the age of hyper-personal news. He won’t be wrong, either. We’re all news editors now.
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