“In a further sign of the importance of online diaries, or blogs, in adding knowledge or interpretation to news events, Reuters has taken a stake in a media start-up that specialises in blog syndication and other forms of user-generated content,” thanks to Pluck, according to the FT.
In my blogging classes, I suggest that bloggers and journalists will ultimately converge through the use of syndication strategies in the form of RSS, RSS2, and ATOM. Content is content and content is king. And the future is now:
“Pluck syndicates nearly 3,000 blogs to news outlets in the US, including The Washington Post and The San Francisco Chronicle. Reuters plans to extend this service to its clients, with strong demand seen initially in the UK and the US.”
RSS syndication allows each blogger to act as a stringer a new media interpretation of the wire service, supporting news stories, news photos, and video news.
So, why aren’t you blogging yet? The barrier to entry is non existent now, but it won’t be forever, especially when companies such as Pluck are choosing the participants now, “Pluck . . . aims to select high-quality blogs from the millions available, to ensure that their standards are similar to those that newspapers and magazines require from their own contributors.”
So, go forth and bloggify.
(Note: My ping server list is now maintained on Wikipedia)
