KEY POINTS:
NEW YORK - Online media syndication company Pluck says it will give traditional media companies the ability to link their websites to online social networks like MySpace and Facebook.
The move would allow people to leave comments on news websites that then show up on their social network profiles, allowing the traditional media outlets to reach people where they are spending increasing amounts of time on the internet, said Pluck Chief Executive Dave Panos.
This is important to media companies that are trying to build up their online audiences as they lose readers and advertising revenue for their print editions.
"If I comment on a story about the presidential primary, the story itself is going to be noted on my Facebook profile, and so is the comment I made," he said.
Companies using Pluck's technology include USA Today publisher Gannett, Discovery Communications, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp, Runner's World publisher Rodale and Better Homes & Gardens publisher Meredith Corp.
"People are interested in sharing experiences around news," said Jim Brady, executive editor of The Washington Post's website, washingtonpost.com, which also is participating.
Brady said that could build up more loyal readers for the website while exposing the Post's news to many of Facebook's 55 million users worldwide. MySpace, owned by News Corp has about 110 million users worldwide.
"We're not trying to be Facebook or MySpace," he said. "By giving ourselves a hook into the bigger social networks, it allows us to get more pollination."
The move allows traditional media companies to associate themselves with popular social networks whose members - typically younger than the average newspaper reader - are considered the most valuable to advertisers on- and offline.
"If you're a media company, you're now attracting more users to your site," Panos said. "For them, I think it's about reaching a broader audience, and maybe a younger demographic."
- Reuters Group, which made a $US7 million investment in Pluck last year, and has an undisclosed ownership stake, also is a participant.
Media companies will be able to link up with Facebook starting in the first quarter of 2008, Pluck said. Networks that are part of Google's OpenSocial technology for independent software developers - which includes MySpace as a member - will be able to use Pluck's technology by mid-2008.
- REUTERS
