Hina Akram
The term social news refers to a fundamental change in the way we receive news. It is the personalized form of news that is being delivered on various platforms such as Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook. These platforms are a hub for news stories from multiple other third-party sources such as brands, blogs, and underrated websites and advertisers.
Unlike the traditional newspaper model, social news is faster and based on how readers interact with them by commenting, liking or sharing. It is not about a single change, it is about bringing up four behavioral changes that are listed down below:
- The reader is now in charge of his news stream.
- The news is coming from all sorts of sources available out there.
- It is the targeted news and relevant to you as a person.
- It does not require to be distributed and comes from a direct source.
These four eminent changes are going to replace the traditional newspaper completely. With a traditional newspaper, we had to grab a newspaper or go to a particular site to buy it. However, the future is bringing a major transformation in the news arena. Today, all that matters is the content, not a place.
People either use news aggregator or follow what people have to say or share. The ranking of the article depends on how the readers react to particular content. They share what seems relevant and important to them, the rest should be removed.
Debunking the Common Misconception
The common misconception that we get to hear a lot is that Social News is all that junk coming from Facebook. There is no denying that social media channels have an influence on how we receive the news.
It allows the reader to connect with individuals that have an impact on his decisions, and to rank his news stream on the basis of what other people have to say about the specific subject. With social media networking, the reader can join the discussion and share his own opinion.
Social news enables people to follow the subjects, individuals, ideas, and reactions that they are interested in. There is nothing wrong in saying that social news is greatly influenced by social media but it just extracts the insights, stories, and reactions that are considered to be valuable.
How is it different from traditional news?
With social news, the way of looking at the news is completely changing as it is far more than just what a person can read in a newspaper. Unlike traditional newspapers, the news is not about ‘what we do not know’ anymore. It is rather about ‘what we want to know’.
It is completely obliterating the traditional newspaper pattern by emphasizing on the news that is relevant to us rather than focusing on the interest of general public. This is a very biggest change that is not only destroying the very idea of the traditional newspaper but also opens up a new arena of news.
Rather than just reading a newspaper, the people are now more interested in reading articles, blogs, or a single tweet delivering informative content. It is all about value coming from a very possible source, be it big or small.
Features of Social News Sources
You no longer have to wait to switch on your Television to see the news, all you have to do is take a quick glance at your Twitter feed or Facebook feed to know what’s happening in the world that is just one click away.
You get information based on current events shared by the people or brand you are following. Other than that, the trending topics and hashtags made it easier for people to get the most recent news. For instance, there are sections on both Facebook and Twitter that covers all the trending news stories, hashtags, and keywords.
The buzz on the web can automatically update the news feed of your Facebook. Similarly, there is a ‘trends’ section on Twitter which allows the users to find what is being tweeted all across the world through hashtags and keywords.
Many popular sites do have an option of boards where stories are being voted or rates by the users for accuracy and popularity. Some biggest sites such as Hacker News, Product Hunt, Reddit, and Digg are the highest in ranking because of the voting system allowing the user to vote for stories they like and vote down what they do not like.
Even a comment section underneath various blogs is another form of social news. Some bloggers allow the user to vote for comments and reply to build a conversation. However, the blogs are not as interactive as social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter but they still come under the social news category.
What is a Social News Website?
A social news website refers to an internet website that covers user-posted stories which are ranked by the users and website administrators. These websites have been used to link various sorts of information such as news, discussion, humor, and support.
These websites also provide the user with an opportunity to comment online and discuss various issues that are highlighted in the articles. They are purely operating on the collective intelligence of each and every user.
Social News websites do not only allow the users to share their collective ideas and awareness but they also provide them with a latest and innovative way to participate in the community that is constantly being updated with the recent news and latest information.
The List of famous Social News Websites
Check the following list of some famous social news websites that you might want to know about:
- Fark
- Slashdot
- Digg
- Newsvine
- Voat
- Unslanted.net
Therefore, Social News has allowed people to decide what qualifies as ‘news’ encouraging a more participatory culture. It has helped reshape democratic views and ideas by allowing the users from every sphere of geographic and national boundaries to analyze the information, share their views with fellow users and create a virtual community for users to participate within.
