Big News my Ask
Feb 19th, 2008 by handolio
I’m still not using BigNews, are you?
If the answer is “What?” you’re probably not alone. BigNews is Ask.com’s answer to Google or Yahoo’s news services, launched earlier this month. I wrote about the launch for iCrossing, observing at the time that an Ask search for “BigNews” didn’t return a link to the site.
Still doesn’t.
The service looks slick, with a graphics-heavy front page populated with stories chosen for their ‘Big Factor’. The choice is eclectic, though, to say the least.
Visiting Google or Yahoo News generally gives you a set of recognisably important stories, tailored depending on whether you’re visiting the .co.uk or .com address. BigNews seems to be a US-based service only, yet the main stories are an odd mix from both sides of the Atlantic, and not all of them stand out as the most newsworthy or interesting, unless you care about Liechtenstein’s banks.
On a 1,024×768 laptop screen, the layout doesn’t work particularly well. The page seems to scroll on for ages, with the bulk of the main news headlines spread out over a huge screen area, separated from the top stories by a full-width video bar.
Back track
In fact, I’ve narrowed my likes about BigNews down to just one feature: Track.
Clicking this link for any story lets you subscribe to a feed, keeping you posted on related stories as they develop. It’s a lot easier and more specific than setting up a Google Alert, so much so in fact that I wouldn’t be surprised to see other sites stealing adopting the feature pretty soon.
