Google News Fails To Generate Comments
We criticized Google News’ approach to comments back when it first launched because it requires human verification before accepting feedback. It’s been over a month now, so how’s the Google News comment system working? Just about like we predicted: almost no one has bothered to use it.
The service now has a page and a feed where you can track stories that have been commented on, but, as Steve Rubel recently pointed out, so far only about one hundred people have bothered to e-mail Google News and go through the complicated hassle of commenting on a story.
Of course in order to comment on a story in Google News, you need to be somehow involved in the story, which could be, at least partially, the reason for the very low numbers. In some sense, 104 comments in 30 days may well be what Google intends to generate, but if you were hoping to see Google News become a place for discussion and feedback, 104 people isn’t much participation, at least by web standards.
Nor does Google News seem to have become a place for reporters to add things editors may have cut or for subjects to offer rebuttals to story slants as some comments on our initial post suggested it might.
Given the low level of participation, it seems like Google might want to think about some changes to its comment policy. How about, instead of limiting comments to participants, accepting comments from everyone and highlighting those from people involved?
I’ll agree with those that argue most comments are made up of noise and trolls and only a few actually add anything to the discussion, but in my experience the trade off is worth it. For instance, some of our best tips and post ideas come from the comments and I don’t mind wading through a hundred comments telling me I’m an idiot to find the one or two that contain useful/helpful information.
