Google has launched Google Reader Play, a “new way to browse interesting stuff on the web that’s easy to use and personalized to the things you like.”
Making it different than Google Reader is the fact that Reader Play does not require any set-up, it uses the users feeds.
Try the experimental project here: http://www.google.com/reader/play/
Press release:
In Google Reader Play, items are presented one at a time, and each item is big and full-screen. After you’ve read an item, just click the next arrow to move to the next one, or click any item on the filmstrip below to fast-forward. Of course, you can click the title or image of any item to go to the original version. And since so much of the good stuff online is visual, we automatically enlarge images and auto-play videos full-screen.
Reader Play adapts to your tastes — as you browse, you can let us know which stuff you enjoy by clicking the “like” button, and we’ll use that info to show you more items we think you’ll like. If you want, you can also choose categories, and we’ll personalize your stream to only show you stuff from those categories. And you don’t even need a Google account to use Reader Play. Of course, if you want to star, like, or share items, we’ll ask you to sign in to your Google account. Since Reader and Reader Play share the same infrastructure, any actions you take in one will be reflected in the other.
You might be wondering where we find all the awesome stuff in Reader Play. It uses the same technology as the Recommended Items feed in Reader to identify and aggregate the most interesting items on the web. If you sign in, Reader Play will also be personalized with items that people you’re following have shared in Google Reader, and items similar to ones you’ve previously liked, starred, or shared.
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Result for: online
Despite a gigantic lead in the online MP3 market, Apple appears to be playing dirty against Amazon MP3, using its clout with the record labels to try to snuff out Amazon’s popular “Daily Deal” promotion.
In 2008, when Amazon MP3 first launched, the Daily Deal was paid for by Amazon, out of their own pockets, as a way to get traffic to the service. In 2009 however, says a label exec, “that promotion morphed into something where the labels make arrangements to provide an exclusive selling window with Amazon for a big release expected to do a lot of business on street date.”
In exchange for the Daily Deal promotion, Amazon gets a one-day exclusive window for sales before street date, as long as digital marketing support through the artist’s Web sites, or MySpace pages.
The same executive said about that situation (via Billboard): “When that happened, iTunes said, ‘Enough of that s**t.’ “
Since then, Apple has been “urging” labels to rethink the Daily Deal, while at the same time withdrawing marketing support for acts that were featured as Daily Deals.
Says another exec: “[Apple] are . . . diverting their energy from ‘let’s make this machine better’ to ‘let’s protect what we got,’”.
Apple, Amazon, Warner, EMI and Sony have not responded to the story yet.
Result for: online
According to a new NPD report, gamers spend the most time online via the Xbox 360 compared to rival consoles, averaging 7.3 hours per week.
PC gamers came in second at 6.6 hours per week, and the PS3 came third at 5.8 hours per week.
Overall, hours spent weekly on online games has increased 10 percent year-on-year, from 7.3 hours in 2008 to 8 hours in 2009.
Additionally, 20 percent of all games bought by online gamers were digital downloads, up from 19 percent in 2008.
Adds NPD Group industry analyst Anita Frazier: “The installed base of video game systems continues to grow, the platforms available to play games continue to expand and the options for content acquisition have never been greater, especially online. And yet, effective monetization of many forms of online gaming continues to be a topic of much debate and discussion within the industry.”
The data was collected from 18,872 online gamers.
