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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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Right! One last try to compliment the team out of the AoD part of this article.
As for Newsvine: I'm over the shock of it all now and you know what? Good on you all - I'm very happy for you all that all your hard work has amounted to something like we all knew it would. Keep it up, keep us happy - we'll love you forever! :)
*hopes it works*
Adventure Books of Seattle staff was VERY pleased to hear about the partnership with MSNBC.
Our consensus was that this can be nothing except good for Newsvine. Our only change with our column here will be to screen articles even MORE closely before publication for interest to readers, quality, and better images. (We use multiple images for virtually all articles, and the ones we don't harvest on public domain come from our own files. We have over a million available.)
Our tech guy for AB is a manager at Microsoft. He likes to remain anonymous (known as 'Greg from Microsoft' at our main site), but if you purchase the right book his name is on the credit page. (laugh)
If Newsvine columnists are concerned about 'bad' or 'inflammatory' content, especially with the greater exposure, I suggest an EXPANSION of the Code of Honor, rather than a member-controlled censorship control. I think this responsibility falls on Newsvine staff more than members.
Congratulations, Newsvine. You gotta love it.
Robert M Blevins
Gayla Prociv
Andrew Thomas
Geoff Nelder (from Great Britain)
The Great Greg
'Ginger' the Office Cat
Robert and all the AB folks; thanks for contributing a reasonable voice with real-life experience to offer.
That's what I call irony!
No kidding. Too bad it isn't irony. Good riddance.
...so does this mean that we're going to have like 29 million users each with 3 cents in their earnings? Cuz...that's a huge micro-economy and I really think we need to find some way to make pennies valuable within newsvine. Imagine if you could really put your two cents in, and get something for it.
I've been in favor of a Newsvine Tip Jar for a while... I smell a new pet project. :)
Relentless....
We never should have given him his Groups. ;)
Mykola, aren't you glad they didn't think of playing that out with you like they do with Noah and his RAV?
Does everyone know about that?
Walt and Dave are drunks,
Noah wants an RAV,
Celestina was on the radio,
Vinemeet and so on....
These are common knowledge now.
-Dave
I prefer the term "alcohol enthusiast."
You would.
I like "Alcohol connoisseur" myself.
I have occasionally worn a monacle to back up this title.
-Dave
So all that Vinemeet liquor and grub could have been corporate-sponsored had we waited a few weeks?
Could induce a bumper subscription rate in Australia Walt ;)
To be honest, I was suspicious at first. I wondered, Did Mike and the gang sell out? But no, you all haven't. Good stuff. Congrats! :)
Great news. There's only one way to go from here. Up.
I hear the concerns from some that suggest we will get 'corporatized'. Not so in my view. What has got this community where it is now is largely through the collective passions of its members and staff. It is very hard to put a lid on that passion no matter how hard a bigger parent might want. In any case, MSNBC is a huge target audience for all of us. That will equate to much better traction on seeds and articles, and even if that does not directly result in more exposure for Viners on Newsvine, it will mean much more traffic on the posts. That means more page views and more revenue which we all share anyway.
I may be proven wrong but concern about a closer tie with Microsoft leading to conflict of interest with open source is also unfounded. MS may be a shareholder in MSNBC but it is at arms length from what I have seen. MS may have tried pulling its weight in the past to ward off the threat from open source. But I think most people (if they read between the lines) can see that it begrudgingly accepts that MS applications have to live with open source (and in some cases, can be complimentary tools - see the recent announcement on Google Apps and strategic partnership with a Big Five consultancy). MS cannot afford to get embroiled in any more adverse anti-trust and/or anti-competition PR. Why would it risk claims of censorship via Newsvine. Let's face it guys, even with this deal, Nesvine is very small stuff in the overall scheme of Microsoft's strategy. I do not see any likely interference at all in our affairs from MS.
Great work guys. Well worth coming back to NV after a few days off:-)
Congratulations NV - a huge achievement.
Congratulations Newsvine!
You know, besides the founders of Newsvine and the "small group of like minded colleagues with one purpose"....kudos to the old Viners who've stayed and shaped the Vine. Newcomers have at times complained, but this group has really been incredibly dedicated to keeping the Vine viable during its infancy.
I think this new direction can only be beneficial for experienced Viners...because you've worked to establish a base, a reputation, a name already....as well as for new....because the audience is so much vaster now.
Other than that, we have to trust that the now larger group of (hopefully) like minded colleagues hold to the original pupose....which was, and remains an excellent one.
This is neat, as I visit first Newsvine then MSNBC or vice versa EVERY morning and waking hour at work and school. I have an affinity for news and now my two favorite places are together. While I share some of the concerns of the fellow members of this community, I have confidence that our day-to-day activities will go unimpaired. Good luck Newsvine & MSNBC!
To me it's a lot like math. A positive (citizen journalism) multiplied by a negative (corporate news) always equals a negative. It doesn't matter how big the positive number is, multiply it by any negative and it's not a negative (of course the analogy falls apart when talking about two negatives, but I digress).
The "bigger stage" argument doesn't wash. That would be like Ralph Nader joining the Democratic party and claiming he did so to get a bigger stage and that he really wasn't compromising anything. He'd assure his supporters that Howard Dean promised to let him remain independent.
Also, the "seperate units" argument doesn't wash. Whether they are seperate entities or not, don't kid yourself for a moment. What msnbc.com does reflects on MSNBC (if for no other reason than the name) as it does Microsoft, NBC, and even GE. If any of those entities felt the negative publicity generated on Newsvine for their company was going to cost them, the pressure would be applied and something would happen.
I think part of the reason that most here are saying, "this is great!" is precisely because of the liberal bent of MSNBC and its subsidiaries. Let me post the following question and see if it doesn't shed some perspective on this situation:
What if it were Rupert Murdoch and News Corp buying Newsvine and saying the exact same things? Would everyone be so accepting? I hardly think so.
Don't kid yourself into believing that because MSNBC and msnbc.com lean more politically in your direction that they are any different than News Corp. They are the essence of corporate news. Don't let their slant blind you to that reality.
I'm saying this is great because I don't give a rat's ass about the political rants that tend to get posted here, most of which aren't worth anyone's time anyway.
Newsvine is not a political website, it's an outlet for people to write about what they find to be important, and, in case you haven't noticed, a lot of that has absolutely nothing to do with politics.
For those of us who fall into that camp, exposure is indeed a good thing.
That of course is accepting the premise that citizen journalism is a net positive and that corporate news is a net negative. In truth it isn't that simple. Both have plusses and minuses to them.
Personally, while I find so called citizen journalism interesting and able to bring up stories that get passed over it is more self directed and self biased than formal journalism. On the other hand "corporate" journalism has the resources to pursue and cover stories in ways that citizen journalists cannot. They also have the means of getting the stories before the people in ways citizen journalists cannot. While I believe there biases in mainstream media it is more in the stories they choose to cover than so much in the way they are covered which I think is far more balanced than most citizen journalists covering stories.
I think there is a place for both forms of journalism. In fact they feed each other. I don't think one positive or the other is negative.
What makes citizen journalism a net positive and corporate journalism a net negative is that they are incompatible. Who is to say a negative number is less valid than a positive?
What I see as making this a losing proposition is the homogenization (or the re-homogenization) of the news.
As I recall from math - a number is a number, positive/negative only indicate which number which number is higher in the count.
As for citizen journalism and MSM being incompatible - by what calculus do you arrive at that. Much of citizen journalism starts with a starts with a story presented by the MSM. Conversely there have been more than a few stories that start as something from a citizen journalist.
As I said - one feeds the other. Both have their strength and weaknesses.
I don't see the homgenization in this unless MSNBC.com decides that Newsvine will no longer accept user submissions freely. However, until that happens, the sky has not fallen.
Congratulations Newsvine!
The work that you do is important and you do it in a uniquely professional manner. I look forward to continuing to support Newsvine during its next phase of growth and impact among the most dedicated news readers and creators.
Use your independence to blaze new trails in the onlines news industry for the benefit of both Newsvine and MSNBC.com!
So where's everyone headed now? What was the point if you're just going to sell to a MSM outlet?
Congratulations Newsvine. Well done.
I was expecting this to happen. I am not surprised at all.
I'd like to know more about MSNBC.com's independence from Micro$oft, NBC/GE and even MSNBC the TV channel. NBC and MSNBC seem pretty intertwined to me. Lots of reporters on both stations and their content is on MSNBC.com.
I must admit I am not familiar with msnbc.com, but I am worried about this. Mike, when you talk about adding MSNBC.com content to Newsvine, what do you mean specifically? Who are the MSNBC.com reporters who are not either MSNBC or NBC employees?
i just hope that msnbc will allow newsvine writers and readers the kind of freedom to point out the incredibly devastating failures of mass media. then again, this buyout also means that newsvine writers and readers are automatically part of mass media, and i think this reduces the impact that independent writers can claim as we continue to engage in the same conversations we've already been engaged in.
in other words, this makes us part of the problem.
then again, i think the elephant in the room is that this news isnt unexpected in the least, and it goes to why newsvine has generally failed to entertain many of the feature requests made by its most experienced content producers. i think many of us took that behavior to mean that newsvine was most interested in positioning itself for corporate takeover, so that the features it was most interested in were those which simply brought in the most traffic, not those which served the underlying dynamics of "getting smarter."
i've yet to see a buyout by a major media company result in better content delivered via mass media. if that happens here, great. wonderful. i know that many of us will try to accomplish just that. but when it comes down to it, this is another example of media consolidation, which is bad for competition and overall quality. i dont like being a part of it. but i've dedicated over a year to working here and trying to develop an audience for my writing, trying to help readers find the great material written by others, and in general trying to write smarter, respond smarter and get smarter.
but one of the things which made newsvine appealing to me, moreso than other similar sites, was that newsvine focused on content, not on earnings. associated content, etc., those kinds of site, they expose themselves as moneygrubbers right off the bat, and newsvine never did that. now, i guess we'll see.
and it's important what scott brought up further up the thread — that this is going to result in a ton of new visitors, making more obvious the features that are lacking when it comes to thread maintenance, group participation, etc. in that regard, i dont think newsvine dot com is ready for so many more new readers all at once. i really hope that newsvine gives its writers some new, better tools, pretty quickly, at the very least.
otherwise, congrats.
Does it? If the problem is that the MSM does not cover a story or does not cover an aspect of the story doesn't acquiring a site that allows users to shed light on those stories and aspects address the problem and work towards a solution.
Not to mention, perhaps the MSM will pay a bit more attention to what goes on here now because it is part of the MSNBC network and may see fit to bring so of these stories into better focus and light. If not the MSM directly then perhaps numerous commentators who make their living off the MSM.
it's definitely possible, everything you said, fdbryant3. i just worry because, like i said, i've yet to see a buyout by a major media company result in better content delivered via mass media.
only time will tell.
I agree with that point actually. Many times it seems that once a site is bought up it seems to stagnate. Not so much change or go down hill, just stop adding. That could be an inaccurate perception though and no guarantee that will happen here.
Congrats and we'll see how this all plays out soon.
Does this mean that the next vinemeet is going to be at Microsoft headquarters?
Wow, congratulations. What a special thing newsvine has always been...it's deserved.
This will be my last post and reading of this website. I won't frequent an alternative news source after it has been acquired by mainstream media. Microsoft will just track our posts and report our opinions to NBC to send to their parent.
You've commented on 4 articles the entire time you've been here,
and submitted no original content.
...I'm sure you'll be missed.
-Dave
Never mattered before now. Certainly won't now!
No need to buy us to gather that data, the site has RSS feeds and one or two employees assigned to the site as information gatherers would suffice. I'm not sure about motives but profiling users is not the ticket.
Well done! Way to go! An awesome accomplishment by a terrific group of guys, but I sure wanted the chance to buy shares... (maybe next time?)
We could take earnings as options, we could probably afford to buy one share every year or so. :~)
Maybe we can devise a way to by options in Calvin, Tom, Lance, Mike, Josh and just chase their creativity for the next 20 years...
I still believe you in Mark. You've got the single word posts down to a science.
I'll short sell some Mark options :)
Just kidding!
Crap I knew I would forget someone... * big high five * Mark! Congrats!
Short selling any of this talent would be a really dumb move. Best to all.
Congrats, guys!
I have to be admit that one of the reasons this excites me is that it gets rid of all the annoying meta stuff: Liberals want to kill all the Conservatives on the Vine and that kinda crap. It allows you and I to get our content into the mainstream and help set the agenda. Believe it or not that's what Newsvine is about. our News pools, (groups) will become very important.
It will take all the cliquery back into the backroom where they belong.
I am excited so long as the Vine crew do not think of limiting participation, and God knows some of us have felt that was happening at times. If it works as a reader/user defined front page, it's excellent that this can get to the big time.
Can't wait to see 10,000 people regularly abusing the "hot chicks" tag.
Boy, I hope so. My biggest concern is that it will introduce vast new waves of cliquery and many threads will end up looking like this one.
Kewl! Congratulations!
I hope they change the payout system and instead of cash, we can also get Microsoft software.
Sources have it they got around $7 million. Take away $2 million of that in taxes. Leaves you with $5 million. Close to 50% to the VC's. Leaves them with $2.5 million for the 6 employees. $1 million goes to the CE0, $1.5 million to the rest of the 5 employees. Not bad.
Hopefully, this acquisition means we'll see a crackdown on Coulter-flamebait-seeds.
Who are your sources? Any other news on the amount?
I've read anywhere from $7 to $75 million, with an inbetween figure of $35 million. Take your pick!
I would guess toward the lower end. I haven't had much involvement with Newsvine for several months, which has been a mixed blessing. I have missed some of the people and projects on Newsvine, but in branching out to other sites around the web, I have met people that have challenged and enriched me and my agenda. There appears to be a different demographic portrait depending on the site. Spengler's Forum has been the best for me so far. Unfortunately, it does not have the technical flair of Newsvine, which I predicted from the time of Newsvine's inception would be its chief strength and marketing feature when the time came to sell it (or as I recall, the software development). The news part of it is not that complicated, after all.
I wonder how this purchase will affect the user agreement, especially in terms of MSNBC right of copyright to Newsvine user content.
I heard it was 3 billion and they all got jet bikes.
It was $3 billion, but they all got "slightly used" Segways, not jet bikes.
But you see, this is the rub: I haven't had much involvement with Newsvine for several months. I noticed this news report in today's Seattle Times. So I do a little investigating, which, of course, means I also head over to Newsvine to get the scoop.
I notice that my tracker is around 1600. I have 250 Newsvine friends. My tracker used to easily exceed 10,000. I suspect there has been a huge drop-off in participation.
Is Newsvine seller at a high point or a low point? Is Second Avenue Partners strapped for cash and curtailing its funding of Newsvine, at least in part, because of the steep decline in the housing market and presumably the hit to its HouseValues.com?
I've noticed that my tracker doesn't keep an accurate count after around 1500, it's a bit glitchy.
It never ceases to amaze me the conclusions/conspiracies some people will jump to.
1) We cap the tracker now to keep performance high.
2) Try googling for "aquantive acquisition" re: your "strapped for cash" comment. :)
Ugh.
Well, the Internet was created for the distribution of conspiracy theories. And porn. And fantasy football.
Speaking of which, my conspiracy theory involves the sale of newsvine to fund Mike D.'s losses when betting during fantasy football ;-)
Now the only piece missing is how to fit porn into that theory...
Pornographic hamster dance cheerleaders. hehe
No, I heard it was to cover his losses betting on his fantasy football team that he stocked with porn stars. Apparently having lesbian strippers on the field isn't as much of an advantage when the other team is statistics.
Mike D. writes, "It never ceases to amaze me the conclusions/conspiracies some people will jump to."
No "conclusions/conspiracies"; just hard questions, the same that any serious journalist would ask. I'd rather have that sort of person working for me than a "yes-man".
What about the other part: "I wonder how this purchase will affect the user agreement, especially in terms of MSNBC right of copyright to Newsvine user content."?
Calvin responded on the article at his column that we retain ownership of our original work.