In the era of social, we no longer find news. News finds us. This is the trend that has changed the way we discover news. In fact, in today's hyper-connected world, your friends are your own source for news.
At Yahoo!, we are now taking this concept to a different level and have reimagined different ways to discover and share news. Stories are indeed shared more by peers through social networks, and thus, this has been the gauge of viral news.
By now, if you read stories on Yahoo!, you have the choice to let your Facebook friends know what you're reading. Don't worry, this is not forced upon you. It's an “opt-in” and you have 100% control of what stories you share and when you share them. You can even delete what you've shared. It's that easy.
Or, you can opt to share your own reads automatically.
A snapshot of interesting reads
What this new feature gives you is a snapshot of what your friends find interesting. It might be the giant crocodile in captivity or the top 10 Christmas gifts you should avoid—Yahoo! lets you discover what your friends find interesting. Hopefully, this turns into a conversation.
So this is all part of the Yahoo! social strategy to make discovering news social and personal. You don't need to force upon friends what you find interesting. Let them know once they log on to their Facebook profile or when they're on Yahoo! Philippines News.
Reading now a ‘social experience’
Because it's likely you share an interest or two with your friend, you're probably going to want to click on one or more of the stories your friend just checked out.
So now, you can start seeing what your friends are reading and watching, so you can navigate to (or watch) new content you may otherwise have missed. As they say, in today's era of social media, reading is also a "social experience."
You can find more about this feature on http://ph.news.yahoo.com/activity-learn-more
Have fun sharing!
Erwin Oliva
Country editor