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It is our great pleasure to announce today that Newsvine has been acquired by msnbc.com. There are so many exciting things to share about this partnership and what it means for you that it's hard to know where to start. In the spirit of good journalism, let's start with the five W's: Who, What, Where, When, and Why.
Who
Msnbc.com is a privately run news organization started by Microsoft and NBC in 1996. The site is one of the most decorated, highly trafficked news sites on the web, serving more than 29 million unique visitors per month. Contrary to popular belief, msnbc.com is run independently from both Microsoft and NBC and even the MSNBC news channel. It is its own organization, headquartered in Redmond, and has been growing and profitable for several years now. Msnbc.com employs about 200 people.
What
As desired by both companies from the outset, Newsvine will continue operating independently, just as it has been since launching in March of 2006. Msnbc.com is committed to maintaining and growing the community and features that have made Newsvine what it is today. In other words, Newsvine will be the same Newsvine you've always known, only stronger. Over the next few years, Newsvine technology and content will make its way onto msnbc.com, and vice-versa where it makes sense. Our users' columns and content will remain as they have been, as we work hard with msnbc.com to implement improvements and enhancements.
Where
Seattle! Of course! This entire process, from courtship to marriage, took the entire summer, and although there were several companies who came knocking along the way, we're thrilled that the right partner just happened to be in our backyard. Working together is a hundred times more efficient when you're a 15 minute drive -- and not a plane flight -- apart. It's a big win for us, a big win for msnbc.com, and a big win for the region as well.
When
We officially became part of the msnbc.com family on Friday, October 5th but we've been talking since May. Since Newsvine launched, about a year and a half ago, we've fielded a lot of phone calls and emails from organizations inquiring about working together, but never did it seem quite as right as it did with the msnbc.com team.
Why
Why would a young, efficient independent news startup become part of a large organization? For us, the answer is simple: it's all about growing the community and spreading the idea of participatory news as far and wide as possible. Although going from zero to over a million users a month in less than two years is heartening, msnbc.com operates on another scale entirely. While Newsvine may be well known in early adopter circles, we want every college student, every farmer, every weekend journalist, and every household to have their own branch on the 'Vine. In order to spread this idea further, we could have gone out and raised a lot of money, quadrupled our staff, and gone it alone, but when one of the finest news organizations in the world is headquartered right across Lake Washington, the potential of partnering with such a great team is dramatic. We feel strongly that we can learn from the successes of their experienced team, in a way that will empower Newsvine to become the worldwide mouthpiece of the citizen journalist.
So What Does It All Mean For You?
So many good things! Following is a list of things you can look forward to:
- Increased exposure for Newsvine writers. Remember when Killfile broke the news of the Virginia Tech shooting 22 minutes before the Associated Press? What about when Corey Spring got an exclusive interview with Dave Chappelle? When important moments like these occur on Newsvine, why shouldn't they also be put in front of 29 million people on msnbc.com? What about when a Newsviner builds up an audience for a weekly entertainment column like Steve Watts' Lost in the Vines? Why shouldn't great content like that be put on an even bigger stage? We think it should, and although Newsvine and msnbc.com will remain independent brands, we're going to spend the next several months figuring out ways to get the best content in front of the biggest audiences possible.
- A bigger, more diverse community. Msnbc.com's user base is spread across the world in every age, income, and demographic group. You'd be hard pressed to find a town in the United States which doesn't count some of its residents as readers. It is our hope that eventually, readers of both Newsvine and msnbc.com will be able to jump from site to site and share in the benefits that each destination offers.
- Speed, reliability and uptime. As a cost-conscious startup, Newsvine has made do with an efficient hardware footprint and no full- time operations staff. The upshot of this is keeping expenses down. The downside, however, is that during heavy spikes of activity and off-hour periods, the site can occasionally slow down or seem less reliable. Under this new partnership, Newsvine will move to the geographically redundant, world-class data centers that house msnbc.com. Bigger, faster machines and more of them. 24/7 monitoring. There may not be a news site in the world which scales better than msnbc.com, and we look forward to benefiting from their excellent infrastructure.
- A slightly bigger staff, able to evolve the site and provide features and support to the community without cutting any corners. Thus far, each Newsvine employee has had to wear a great variety of hats, and in some instances we have been strung very thin. The ability to add staff members in needed areas is crucial to our success as a business, as a web site and as a community. We look forward to providing excellent support and service to our users as our community grows dramatically during the forthcoming months and years. The team that set out to create the vision from day one will be freed up to continue developing the features and tools that make the magic of Newsvine possible. We will be armed with the resources and access to bring the best content produced by Newsviners to the world at large - bridging the gap between citizen and journalist.
- More news and images from more sources. Newsvine's mainstream news and images have always come directly from the Associated Press, and in fact, being the quickest wire-to-web news site in the world has always been something we've taken a lot of pride in. However, with the welcoming of msnbc.com into the fold, we now have the potential to bring you more of the best reporting in the world and some of the most stunning news imagery you'll ever see online.
...and so much more.
We're so excited about all that's in store for the both the msnbc.com and Newsvine community in the weeks, months, and years to come, and we hope you'll join us in helping spread the cause of participatory news to every household with a story to tell or a thought to share.
Open Q&A regarding the Future of Newsvine
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My first reaction was negative, then after reading the article... well, I'm still not so sure. Just sounds like your typical sell out to me, and if you look at the votes on the comments, all the negative comments are getting a lot of votes, so it seems I'm not the only one. As one person duly noted, money HAD to have played a major role in this decision. It has to be hard to turn down millions of instant dollars. This just saddens me, and I'm not sure I will stick around much longer either, if it becomes too corporate around here.
That being said, if you guys and MSNBC can do things the way Yahoo has done when they acquired such startups as Flickr and Del.icio.us then maybe everything will be ok. Everyone was worried when Yahoo acquired them but as far as I can tell not much has changed on those two sites. I guess it all remains to be seen, it's just sad that everyone today seems to want to sell out to the highest bidder. I can't fault anyone for that, I guess, it's what makes the economy run in a free market, but it sure as hell isn't my priorities.
In the end I feel dejected, sad and I guess just a little like we should have seen this one coming. What, pray tell is going to happen to OUR huge sums of ad revenue? I mean you guys are making mad loot out of this deal, what about our money?
You actually make a good point about this. Will we be seeing any dividends from this buyout? Afterall, we're the ones who wrote the stories and commented Newsvine into the site it is now.
right..lol
We're about to get overrun by a bunch of new visitors aren't we? Put away all the good
china and put out the paper cups. Millions of cups of punch and cookies.
May I throw out this question: What can we, as Newsviners, do to help if - as I suspect
will occur due to this news - a bunch of new people come to check out this place?
More time spent with the new members helping them figure out how to do links? More time
spent blocking and warding off spammers?
Hard not to get a "here goes the neighborhood" feeling about this.
Scott, that is an excellent questions. What do we do indeed.
Thanks. I'm going to turn my answer into my article on all of this.
I'm sincere in my question - I'm a big believer in involvement. The more involved a group (be it a class I'm teaching, a special needs adult I'm working with or a community here) is involved in making changes and decisions the more they will connected and committed to that work.
we're all going through a big shock here - Newsvine and MSNBC have been kissing and courting for months... without telling us? How dare they!? But I understand the reasons for that.
but now it's like Newsvine just got a new stepdad (or stepmom since I think all the newsvine staff are guys) and we're waiting to see what she's like.
And so I'm thinking that a) We should wait and see what shes like before splitting and taking a position on how she is based on first impressions or past actions, i.e. pre-marriage
and
b) maybe she and us and dad (yes the whole newsvine family) can do some fun things together like decide how best to address this influx of new people.
Would it help to have more of us watching the newcomers to help them avoid errors. I want us to avoid some of the errors made with the New York Times refugrees and I hope we can learn from that.
Is this a good time to institute an idea I suggest once where new members are given mentors (newsviners offering to help them when they have questions)
Are there certain Newsvine help files that need updating as they come in?
Congrats guys!
Congratulations Newsvine AND MSNBC...I'm very happy now to have serious alternative news and look forward to enjoying newsvine.
Well damn. So much for my evil plans to buy out Newsvine and ban all the conservitive writers. I was gonna be the Left-Wing Rupert Murdoch!
On to plan B then.
Hey -- does this mean that we're now columnists for MSNBC? That looks good on a resume.
Yeah, that is a good question. Any answers?
Can I get that investment money back, then, Killfile? ;)
I wonder if Eric Albert will say this now makes us all class thugs?
Oh, surely not!
Viki
I just about fell out of my chair reading the link to the other article where Eric goes all class on us.
Just too funny and predictable.
It's like a script being followed or something, isn't it?
That cracked me up too. I'm sure that when New York Times and Washington Post announces this news they will include Eric's comments.
It should be interesting to see just how much things change.
Potentially this could actually be good for columnists. If they choose to, they could add a lot of links to newsvine and encourage more traffic to move through. I just hope they don't completely change everything.
No, no, no. We're corporate fascists!
Whether thugs or fascists, we are certainly all whores.
As I noted elsewhere, all of this is worth it to me because Keith Olbermannnn just named me "Worst Person in the Woooooorld!"
Yeh, ye get used t' it afther awhile. Just don't kiss Me on th' mouth.
Congratulations, to the NV staff, and to the rest of the community. The posts previous to this post a number of questions, and despite the claims some of us make to clairvoyance, the only way to really find out how things will work out is to stick it out and see.
I have no doubt that the occasional current Newsviner will leave, and new ones will join...the more things change....
But I do know one thing: this is a done deal; the only influence we have is on ourselves. That is, what will we do now?
For myself, that is going to be to try and create even more quality content, and to try and support others who are doing the same.
Congratulations, once again, and thanks for giving us a bigger target audience to write for!
That's the ticket, Synthesis! I'm with you all the way.
Very nicely said.
Oh, sweet Jesus, thank you.
I suppose there's no hope of getting you guys off Windows servers now, though, is there? ;)
This doesn't have annythin' t' do with insectide at all, does it?
Ha. I thought that too. Well, maybe that's to get rid of any bugs in the system?
Now we just need some fire extinguishers to put out any flamefests
That's generally what they keep me around for.
I beg iPod'n, Anne, but Flame will go to a whole new level. especially with the PC and Mac users. So maybe Bill Gates will be the new Calvin. MSNBC promotes flame. see ya zune.
I was just kidding, you know that don't you. •·¿•·
That's entirely possible, but on the other hand, now that the 6 Newsvine guys are going to have less to worry about money-wise and administratively, and a little more time to work on the site, I'm thinking they'll also have more time to work on that List of Great Ideas we've all been generating for the last two years, too.
I think, initially, my own fears of the new stepmother situation are valid concerns, but until we see what she does and how she acts, we won't know whether those fears become reality or our stepmother herself adjusts to her new stepchild. And as in any business (which Newsvine is and always has been) there's an element of risk in everything that we do (we, in the sense of developers AND community, for it's that unique recipe that makes Newsvine what it is, really... and it's a recipe that obviously attracted some big thinkers over at msnbc.com, so we must be doing something right, eh?).
I know I've said this many times, but I think it bears repeating. We are charting an uncharted course in the field of new media. Nobody has been where we're going before. Nobody has the "map" to our success and a lot is in our own hands... and now that we have a new stepmom, maybe she has some tricks up her sleeve that will help us along the way and not hurt us. Time will tell.
Bravo, well said and amen, Aine. I am wishing once again that I was allowed more than one vote on a comment. I couldn't agree more with your sentiment that nobody has been where we are, and as someone who took his first steps in the world of media in the heady post-Woodward&Bernstein days -- only to see the news profession badly tarnished by the OJ trial and the subsequent lowest-common-denominatorization of media, I still actually hope that what we're doing will be the salvation of newswriting.
Count me in.
Does this mean my conversation tracker is going to work on the weekends?
As to the other stuff, I'll be one of the skeptical-yet-hoping-for-the-best wait-and-seers.
Wait and see, yes. Given the blatant political bias of the cable channel MSNBC, Microsoft is the least of our worries. When I saw the title of this thread I assumed it was a joke, but after I read I felt as though I had been coated with an alien slime. Only an insect would watch MSNBC to "get smarter".
Way to smear several million viewers of MSNBC, some of whom will soon be joining the community.
At least we didn't get bought by Fox News or TownHall.com :)
i guess there is a silver lining
Are ye th' guy who put sugar in yer boss' gas tank, Pseudo? Or was it Saran Wrap on th' toilet seat? I forget which now.
I dont think in the grand scheme of things, they really care if even a few hundred newsviners left because of this deal. I mean, they stand to gain much more money and many more new 'viners from this deal than they are gonna lose. I'm sorry to say but we don't figure much into the equation. They wouldn't be where they are today without us, we'll see if they remember that.
I'm on the fence right about this until I see how integrations play out, but I do see it in a similar way: software is cheap, hardware creates capacity, but community is where Newsvine's value is.
And why should they remember us? We are insignificant. This is about greed, plain and simple. It would obviously kill someone to have a standatd or two that reached outside their own filthy pockets. I hope the staff enjoy the time between now and when they all get fired. At least they can comfort themselves knowing that they earned that particulary reward for being so @!$%#ing greedy.
You know what's really sad about all this? It proves Digg and Kevin Rose to have more morals and scruples than newsvine. At least Digg has never sold out. I never thought I'd say that but what do you expect, I guess. Kevin Rose was an outsider who started his company from scratch and to this day, despite numerous offers, has decided 'twould be better to not sell. Newsvine on the other hand, if I am correct, was started by former Disney and ESPN executives. It is to be expected I guess. They were corporate from the very beginning. I might just have to give Digg another chance after all.
The sky is not falling.
Don't kid yourself Phaedrus. Digg will when and if the right deal comes along and they feel it most beneficial to them. Just cause it hasn't happen doesn't mean it won't, of course doesn't mean it will. Just don't fool yourself into thinking they aren't in it for their own interests.
I never worked at Disney or ESPN, nor was I 'corporate' when I founded Newsvine. My fellow co-founders did work at Disney, but they were not executives.
You also forget that there are more people involved in company matters than the founders, when there are investors involved. In our case, we were in agreement with our investors. The same may or may not be true of digg.com (or any other company), which ultimately determines whether or not companies are acquired, or keep raising VC.
I don't understand the reason for all this hostility. Newsvine is a corporation that was set up to make money. There was never any pretence about that. Its drawing point was that it would share those revenues.
Do you expect these guy who founded it to give their whole life to something that can never become big? If you want a civil action group go join a union.
Why should a corporation not seek to become bigger? Why on earth?
Hear hear Seye! Well asked question. There was almost a hint of 'troll' behaviour in some of the comments against the acquisition in these threads.
With all due respect, we don't quite know that, yet.
We do know that. Nothing has changed as of today, from a practical standpoint. The sky may start falling tomorrow, but no effects are evident right now.
Falling and fallen not being the same thing, if the sky does fall, this would likely be the start of the process. As such, I stand by what I said: we do not know it yet. This no doubt contributed to your "wait and see" approach? I, myself, am waiting to see if it is falling. But, again, I don't know that yet. Time will tell.
some do it to suppress the truth.....are have total control in making things go in their direction.....I've only been here 2 months and like the search engine with the ticker "yhoo" all my history is disappearing......guess that little geek guy got a "new" job on the "vine"!
the pen in your hand is more powerful against a bank full of wealth.....but if no one never red... ooops! reads the truth....the bankers will always reap profits from this vine!
my time here on Earth and this site ain't gonna give me a key to the pearly gates but staying true to myself will.......that's more than I can say about this s....
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dang! there you go again with that delete crap!
I knew something had been up for awhile. The Newsvine blog and Mike's website had become a regular ghost town in recent months.
Will we begin to see video news articles fed from msnbc.com?
Will we be able to load news videos to newsvine or Msnbc itself?
That'd be a handy feature.
-Dave
That is really the number one rule around here, isn't it? :) When things go quiet, that's the lead indicator something's about to be released or announced.
actually, over half of us are apple fanboys. :)
Then what did you think about my suggestion of selling to Apple instead and calling the new joint venture iNews?! Huh? This site would be HUGE, in a Donald Trump kind of way!!
Too much confusion with a product alreadhy in development, Phaedrus. I believe Apple has an interacthive cyberungulate device coming out next Christmas tentatively called iGnu, plural: iGnus. Basically ye pay $700 an' it eats grass all day an' craps on yer lawn. Oh yeah, it plays music too.
Congratulations. It is too early for me to have an opinion on the matter on hand.
slowly walks away and backs up all his articles
Congratulations. I'm very glad to hear that you plan to remain independent.
Since you guys just got a fat cheque you shoud sponsor a mega Vinemeet!
Now Newsvine is big time, I hope y'all will publish less meta stuff. Can't wait to unleash cash and chill on the general society. Whoo hoooooooooooooooooooo!!
hehe
Heh, so long as they don't evolve into "Vinecons" with hefty registration fees, drab convention center settings and uninspiring keynote speakers.
Not bloody loikely if there's an open bar, I do be thinkin'.
The Weakly World News is on the story and reveals what the announcement left out: Elvis is not only in the building but he just bought the building - he bought MSNBC and Newsvine all at once.
Asked why he has been operating under the name of Cash he said he thought going under Elvis would have been too obvious.
Atta boy. You read it here, first!
TheyI don't call me Scoop for nothingCongratulations to the Newsvine staff.I'm sure it was a magnificent payday and you all deserve it.
I'll take a "wait and see "attitude about the changes to come,but I have a foreboding sense I'm gonna miss the "old Vine".
Congratulations!!!!!
I hope you guys did well.
The Founders of Newsvine have ALWAYS been fantastic - and always listened AND communicated with their users. You deserve your success.
Take the money and run while it is still worth 40% of of what it was in 2000.
Buy silver and euros.
Now that the zionist fascist bastards have invaded, I'm out of here.
R.I.P.
....Honestly I've never even heard of you dude.
And this whole comment reeks of conspiracy theories.
-Dave
Well, at least some good news has come out of this announcement.
Ah, DJN, we hardly knew ye....
Actually, I've never heard of you, but best wishes to you and good luck staying away from the corporate fascist zionist neocon class whore military industrial complex Halliburton grassy knoll Blackwater pull it Blackwater drone melted steel thugs out there.
No kidding. Those bastards never bring beer. Well, good beer, at least. Coors Light is not beer you zionist fascist commie bastards/beetches!
I'd never heard of DJN either... and his/her account is already gone.
Hahaha, "Who the hell are you?" is the first thing that came to my mind as well. Kind of hard to make a point out of an angry public exit when no one knew you had entered in the first place....
This is really great news, for a lot of reasons.
But, I would just like to say -- Calvin owes me a beer.
I for one, welcome our new...
eh, forget it.
Congratulations.
Congratulations, a good exit at a good time.
Those of us who've been here for a while know Newsvine is big time. Now everyone will know.
Fantastic news, congrats to everyone at the 'Vine! This should prove to be really interesting for everyone, users and staff alike! :-)
Congrats, guys. I'm so proud of what this has become.
I'm still a little torn about the potential outcome, but I'm sticking around, to continue doing what I'm doing (which isn't much) and to see what happens.
Again, congratulations.
Congratulations Mike and everyone !
I had no idea that this was in the works and when I logged into the MSN homepage to pick up my msn email I sure did a double take on this headline ! Whoa ! Should prove to be very interesting in the months to come.
Great news guys, very excited to see what this leads too,
I think we should make Olbermann and Otto share an office ;)
One of the thoughts that haunts me at the moment is that in some way, I am now associated with Keith Olbermann.
~ shiver ~
In the meantime, I'm watching him tonight on NBC talking about football. I suspect that during commercial breaks, he's telling Tiki Barber, "Oh, goody, I'm now a colleague of Tom Bombadil's."
Put down that cigar, Keith!
This is possibly the worst pre-game show I have ever seen. The analysis is poor and Olbermann is horrible. Chris Collinsworth makes the show bearable.
Sssssh! Jason, do you want to get us all deported around here?!?!?
Hehehe, I totally agree with you.
I was chuckling earlier about those who left the New York Times forums (dang liberal publication) to come here only to find it bought out by another organization which conservatives also call conservative. It's like it's a conspiracy by liberal sites to follow them around.
LOL, imagine my shock at being affiliated in any way with a news organization so liberal that they make CNN look like Fox.
I am looking forward to my appearance on "Hardball" with Chris Matthews. I will eat him alive with a bottle of Chianti and some fava beans.
Yeeeeeehaaaaaaaw!
Make us proud, Tom!
Change is always difficult to foresee the meaning of at the onset.
I am game!
I congratulate the staff of Newsvine.
I also congratulate all the fine minds operating here in your seeds as well as commentary in the individual columns.
Newsvine staffers gave us a voice and the Viners gave them the content.
So exciting to be a part of this!
:))