Episode Ten - Newsvine

[1]Online Tools for the 21st Century

[2]Wayne MacPhail

Newsvine is a collectively edited online news site. It's been around for over a year. Newsvine has proven itself to be a credible source of user-generated and user-selected news stories from across the full spectrum of human comedy, tragedy, sexuality and stupidity. Less stupidity and sex boils to the top than you might think. Newsviners can write their own stories, seed and vote on stories elsewhere on the web or become Newsvine columnists. I'm mentioning it today because this week Newsvine unpacked a major makeover, thanks to some Ajaxy goodness, the front page now sports moveable news and information modules and a colourful Newsvis graphic that shows how users effect the site. The new features turn Newsvine into the love child of a Page Flakes style portal and the New York Times, edited and written by its readers. Newsvine also can also serve up local weather, news etc., but that only really works if you're in the U.S. Still, even without it, Newsvine is a worthwhile tool and proof that when ordinary folks pick and write the news not all the stories are about kittens, Lindsay Lohan and diets based on eating only cheese strings, flax and licorice. Which, trust me, doesn't work. So, newsvine, at newsvine.com. Where every citizen can be Citizen Kane.

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