More interactivity coming to HesperiaStar.com

As per the official press release:

Freedom Interactive brings social media technologies to its network of over 40 web sites
Teams up with Pluck to expand opportunities for reader engagement and advertising

Irvine, Calif. — July 11, 2007 – Freedom Interactive today announced a strategic arrangement with Pluck, a social media technology pioneer, to empower its audience to share content and create communities of interest among Freedom’s network of over 40 news and information web sites. This relationship is one of many strategic initiatives Freedom is actively pursuing to strengthen audience engagement and loyalty by offering its audience the ability to create, share and exchange content through an integrated social media platform.

Freedom Interactive plans to launch the Pluck SiteLife technology across its network of newspaper, television and magazine websites in August. With Pluck SiteLife, Freedom Interactive will enable its audience to interact with content and each other via tools allowing users to comment on local news, create blogs, share photos, create profiles, and participate in community discussions. Once deployed, Freedom Interactive will support social media activities through innovative advertising opportunities and sponsorships.

“We are eager to adopt technologies that inspire an interactive connection between our audience and the content we provide.� said Michael Mathieu, President of Freedom Interactive. “Our relationship with Pluck enhances our online community with fresh user-generated content that is essential for maintaining user loyalty, increasing web site traffic and providing new opportunities to our advertisers.�

“The world’s top publishers and media companies have recognized that the way their audiences consume and interact with news and information has shifted with the advent of social media technology,� said Dave Panos, CEO of Pluck Corp. “Freedom Interactive is embracing this shift by offering unique social media capabilities that enhance reader experiences, drive audience interaction and deliver new opportunities for advertisers.�

About Freedom Interactive
Freedom Interactive is a division of Freedom Communications—a national, privately owned information and entertainment company headquartered in Irvine, Calif. Freedom Interactive owns and operates web sites coast to coast, each offering up-to-the-minute breaking news stories, extensive content with a unique perspective, and trusted local news coverage on demand. The company’s web sites are associated with various Freedom Communications media properties including over 70 newspapers and magazines, such as The Orange County Register in Orange County, CA, and The Gazette in Colorado Springs, CO, and nine broadcast television stations.

About Pluck Corporation
Pluck Corporation’s social media solutions empower publishers, broadcasters and brands to integrate open content, community and social networking into their web properties driving audience traffic and revenue. Clients include Cox, Gannett, Hearst Corporation, Meredith, Rodale and The Washington Post. Awards include a Red Herring Top 100, AlwaysOn Top 100, and Fast Company Top 101. The privately held company is based in Austin, Texas with funding from Austin Ventures, Mayfield Fund and Reuters. More information on Pluck offerings can be found at www.pluck.com.

I suspect, as part of this, we’ll be seeing the current commenting system on the Hesperia Star, Daily Press and Desert Dispatch sites change. I don’t think anyone really loves the current system, so that’s OK.

The social networking stuff is interesting. I’m not sure that MySpace should be sweating any, but I think there’s a large untapped audience of older folks who would like a Web site but not want to get involved with MySpace or any of its rivals.

No Comments »

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Leave a comment

Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>