2015 predictions: personalization reaches newsrooms
“No longer will there be a singular front page — instead, each person will see a news mix refined ever so slightly to reflect their region, interests, and habits.”
Ten years ago, EPIC 2014 warned of automated algorithms entertaining the masses with frivolous news items made relevant by their routines online. Today, companies like Facebook are struggling to learn what newsrooms have long known: Presenting readers with personally relevant news is both science and art.
In 2015, affordable tools analyzing a wealth of reader data will finally enable newsrooms built in the industrial era to compete with the Silicon Valley (and Alley) upstarts. Personal reading recommendations will become a important tool for these publishers in the months ahead.
Learning from Google, news organizations will make multivariant testing the norm. No longer will there be a singular front page — instead, each person will see a news mix refined ever so slightly to reflect their region, interests, and habits. While some will be tempted to game the system to drive clicks, the best newsrooms will develop a cohesive news narrative echoing the brand’s strength even as it reflects the reader’s unique interests.
To continue reading, visit The Nieman Lab, where this was originally published.
Craig Saila is director of digital products at the Globe and Mail.
