Semantics, AOL, and the HuffPo
February 17, 2011
Take a huff, a deep huff.
A cursory glance at the recent news heralding the odd coupling of The Huffington Post, arguably a prototype for twenty first century journalism, and AOL, a struggling remnant from the early days of the Internet revolution, presumably leaves the observer unimpressed if not perhaps a little concerned with yet another union in an increasingly deep queue of titanic mergers. “AOL Gets Some Semantics With Its Huffington Post Acquisition” sheds some insight into the deal.
In what current chatter has labeled a last and perhaps impotent attempt at salvation for AOL (see their marriage to Time Warner), it appears that this latest venture could yield some unexpected advantages. HuffPo has been attracting record readership. A report from Google Analytics places the number of unique visitors to the six year old site at forty million for the month of January (though there is contention over the figure). Pair that with its growing roster of respected contributors and one can begin to understand the attraction for AOL.
The Huffington Post has employed semantic Web service for some time. Most recently their purchase of Adaptive Semantics, whose JuLiA technology brings with it automated comment moderation, user profiling as well as a variety of newsgathering implements, seems poised to provide the most benefit to AOL properties. The article states, “In a release announcing the deal, which is expected to close in the spring, the firms said that combining AOL’s infrastructure and scale ‘with the Huffington Post’s pioneering approach to news and innovative community building among a broad and sophisticated audience will mark a seminal moment in the evolution of digital journalism and online engagement.’ ”
Compared to the splicing of Comcast and NBC-Universal, a deal that ignited intense debate and the effects of which remain unclear, the fusion of new media and dated internet access seems tame, if not ill-fitting. Admittedly I consistently read the Post, finding it had sidled up behind The New York Times and the BBC’s online manifestations as a source for news. I remain curious if AOL’s dowry amounts to anything of value in the volatile media landscape. The HuffPo, like its co-founder and namesake, seems uninterested in anything that cannot aid in propelling them to the top of the pile. Can AOL hack it? Time will tell.
Sarah Rogers, February 17, 2011
Freebie
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[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Stephen E Arnold, IT Blog Network. IT Blog Network said: #Semantic #Blogs Semantics, AOL, and the HuffPo : Beyond Search: The Huffington Post has employed semantic Web s… http://bit.ly/hMdXBE […]
[…] A recent article comments, “In what current chatter has labeled a last and perhaps impotent attempt at salvation for AOL (see their marriage to Time Warner), it appears that this latest venture could yield some unexpected advantages. HuffPo has been attracting record readership.” […]
[…] A recent article comments, “In what current chatter has labeled a last and perhaps impotent attempt at salvation for AOL (see their marriage to Time Warner), it appears that this latest venture could yield some unexpected advantages. HuffPo has been attracting record readership.” […]