The Bottom Line
Newsvine is a social news site set up like a newspaper. In addition to allowing users to submit, vote for, and comment on articles, Newsvine also allows users to write their own articles and create their own news columns.
- Stays current on a wide variety of topics by using news feeds such as the Associated Press.
- Allows users to write their own articles and create their own columns.
- Users must scroll down to see a full list of articles.
- Can be intimidating to first-time users.
- Must install button on browser to submit articles.
Description
- Articles fed by syndicated news feeds such as the Associated Press so the news is always current.
- Allows voting and commenting on current news.
- Write your own articles and create your own news column.
Guide Review - A Review of Newsvine
Newsvine is a social news site with the look and feel of a newspaper. The site is focused on news items in a wide variety of categories as opposed to blog posts or miscellaneous articles found around the web.
The immediate difference users will notice between Newsvine and other social news sites is the lack of a quick list of articles. Instead, keeping with more of a newspaper theme, a prominent article is displayed with piece of the story on the main site inviting users to click a link to read more of the story.
Most of these articles are self-contained, which means the user will not be taken to a different website to view the whole article. Once viewing the full story, users can vote for and comment on the article much like other social news sites.
Users can also 'seed' articles they find interesting. Seeded articles work much like other social news sites whereby the user is taken to the actual website to read the full article. To seed an article, users must install a button on their browser, so this process is far less user-friendly than other sites.
A list of additional articles falling under the chosen category is located below the featured articles. There is also a listing for seeded articles. This creates two columns, and each article contains a short description, so the page scrolls down further than many social news sites.
Besides seeding articles found on the web, voting on articles, and commenting on articles, users can also write their own articles and create their own 'column'. Newsvine provides a direct link to the user's column in the form of a distinct URL.
Creating an account and using the site is more confusing and intimidating than other sites, but once you learn the basics, it is not too difficult to use.
