Google seems to be on a roll these days with all of its news offerings. Who knew that a little renewed competition in the search engines wars could lead to such an outpouring of innovation! While some of Google’s releases have been very high profile (Real Time Search, for example), others have been snuck out with less fanfare. Living Stories debuted quietly today. We at iBraryGuy were so impressed by it, however, that we decided to give it a little hype of our own.
Google Living Stories is an awesome concept – all of the news on a major topic, gathered in one place, with a permanent URL to which you can constantly refer for the latest updates, and organized in a logical and accessible fashion. It’s a tall order. Thanks to a partnership between Google, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, it is almost a reality. Living Stories has launched, but it is still in beta. Even so, you have to check it out!
By choosing one of the currently featured “Living Stories” on the beta site, you get an interactive view of the topic as never seen before. You get news stories, opnion pieces, media, discussions, quotes, additional resources, and – one of our favorite features – even a timeline. The whole “story” is constantly updated with new materials, yet the URL for it never changes. You can even sign up for e-mail updates or an RSS feed of the “story”. It is some serious innovation for those who are serious about following a story.
Google Living Stories is still in development. However, with two of the most respected newspapers in the USA participating, it is off to an excellent start. Give it a look and let us know what you think.