This morning the net was abuzz with word that Google News will now take “reader” comments. Well, not really. The official Google blog says that Google News will start publishing “perspectives about the news from people in the news…”
This is a far cry from actual “reader” comments. Google explains:
“We’ll be trying out a mechanism for publishing comments from a special subset of readers: people or organizations who were actual participants in the story in question. Our long-term vision is that any participant will be able to send in their comments, and we’ll show them next to the articles about the story. Comments will be published in full, without any edits, but marked as ‘comments’ so readers know it’s the individual’s perspective, rather than part of a journalist’s report.”
Well now, isn’t that playing it a bit safe?
Mashable asks, “Who decides which comments get published? Are ill-informed rants acceptable? What about propaganda? Could be very tricky indeed.”
“Tricky” certainly is an understatement!
Google isn’t talking just yet about how they’re going to allow comments from their “special subset of readers.” They may have to implement registration and verification before posting. Google may also need to employ some people (novel concept) to handle editorial and moderation tasks necessary to prevent spamming, ranty trolls, or inundated by PR flacks seeking to “correct” misrepresentations. (PR blogger Steve Rubel offers his perspective on this.)
Reality check: These days, even the big-time newspapers of record don’t hire enough experienced moderators to manage their own flow of comments. So how can we expect a company that’s famous for its stunning lack of customer service (see Mobile Jones, Google writes a bad check) as well as its pride in automating everything to hire actual humans to perform some kind of editing or moderating? The Guardian’s Jack Schofield wonders about this too.
Of course, Google News doesn’t write news stories it — just aggregates them and links to the sites where they are published. So what exactly is the compelling reason for people to write Google to add, correct, or append to, say, an AP story that’s actually published elsewhere?
One thing is certain: Google’s move has raised many more questions than the enigmatic online giant is willing to answer right now.
(Editor’s note: This is an edited version of a post Tish Grier originally published on her blog, The Constant Observer. Also, Tidbits editor Amy Gahran wonders whether Google News will be publishing comments from people who are involved in news stories but who may not have been contacted by reporters or included in published news stories. Could this be a way to correct for incomplete reporting?)
