WebProNews

Why Horizontal Content Sites Make for Attractive Models

Those new to blogging or article writing have often been told to focus on one very niche topic. One narrow vertical. That has commonly been considered the way to gain credibility, readers, links, and ultimately traffic, which assuming the blog/site itself isn't your primary source of income, could lead to sales of your products/services. But is keeping it narrow really the best way to go?

NY AG Works With Facebook And MySpace To Remove Sex Offenders

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said today that more than 3,500 registered state sex offenders have been removed for social networking sites Facebook and MySpace. Under New York's e-STOP law, which was written by Cuomo, Facebook was able to identify and disable accounts linked to 2,782 registered New York sex offenders, and MySpace was able to identify and shutdown accounts linked to 1,796 sex offenders.

Wikipedia on Staying Relevant to a Diverse World

We recently reported on the notion that Wikipedia losing editors could lead to a decline in accuracy. Sue Gardner, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, tells WebProNews growth in editing has slowed, but the number of editors is just flat, and not declining.

The Internet is All Over Climategate While the MSM Sleeps

Update 4:03 PM ET -- The head of the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) Phil Jones is stepping down pending an investigation by the University of East Anglia. - Read Statement -

What Would You Change About Google Search?

Google's Matt Cutts, as you may know, frequently appears in videos for Google's Webmaster Central YouTube channel. In these videos he answers questions submitted by Google users. One of the latest ones features a different kind of (and perhaps more fun) question:

Fair Syndication Consortium Calls Foul On Google

In most pie charts that feature Google, the search giant dominates the circle, and a new one from the Fair Syndication Consortium follows that pattern.  Unfortunately for Google's reputation, the chart's titled "How unlicensed use of U.S. newspaper content is monetized."

Minds of the Media Gather to Discuss Future of News

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is hosting a 2-day workshop on "Journalism and the Internet Age" today and tomorrow. Featured at the event are a number of high profile media executives and gurus. The cast ranges from News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch to Huffington Post co-founder Arianna Huffington.

Gates Foundation Gives $3.4 Million For Library Broadband

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have committed nearly $3.4 million in grants to improve Internet connections for libraries in five states. Nationally, libraries report that demand for high-speed Internet access is growing faster than their ability to provide increased bandwidth. An American Library Association study found that 60 percent of all libraries say their current Internet speed is insufficient.

GE/Comcast NBC Universal Deal Said to Be Complete

CNBC reports that the deal between GE and Comcast over a majority stake in NBC Universal is complete, and will likely be announced officially Thursday morning. This comes from what CNBC attributes as a "source close to the merger". According to the report, GE and Comcast are waiting on Vivendi to sign an agreement, selling its 20% stake, which is worth about $5.8 billion. CNBC's David Faber outlines the deal:

Google Puts Black Friday Searches Up 20 Percent

People may or may not have mobbed stores this Black Friday - your humble author hid inside and didn't watch any live TV - but they definitely spent some time at their keyboards.  Google has stated that searches for "Black Friday" increased by more than 20 percent on a year-over-year basis. That's actually a sort of low number, too, at least among the group of them that Google tossed out.