Wednesday, June 11, 2014

News Joins Yahoo Buzz, Posts Breaking News, and Twitters the Editor

Here at jb, we've joined Yahoo Buzz, posting a "Buzz This!" button at the end of each article. Yahoo Buzz is much like Digg, allowing users to vote on an article and push it to the top of a content popularity list at Yahoo. Once there, articles can then be voted up or down by other Yahoo users. The purpose of the technology is to allow popular stories to migrate to the top while allowing the user community to weed out stories that don't belong there.

The downside, of course, is that the whole thing can become a popularity contest that's mostly focused on tabloid topics and celebrity news, but News readers can help change that situation by clicking the Buzz This button on informative articles you think deserve more recognition. This will cause them to move higher in the "Health" category on Yahoo Buzz.

It doesn't take much to get to the top, either. Today's No. 1 health article only had 26 votes. This means a News article that receives just 30 votes would have attained the top position in the Yahoo Buzz health category. Those numbers will no doubt change as Yahoo Buzz gets more popular, but readers can always influence the buzz news list by clicking the Buzz This button found at the end of each article.

New Breaking News Feature

News has also added a new "Breaking News" feature that appears on its home page and article pages. These are links that cover up-to-the-minute breaking news about health and green living as reported by websites across the 'net.

For example, yesterday news was released about red grapes being a "wonder cure" for high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Our breaking news page on that topic, which features a comment by the Health Ranger and a link to the original news source, is here:

Health Ranger tries Twitter

Want to see what's happening behind the scenes with the Health Ranger and Natural News? I've opened a Twitter account and started posting real-time updates on what's happening:

I can't guarantee I'll use this long term, but if there's enough interest in it, I'll post interesting updates to it, such as who I'm interviewing at that moment, what projects we're working on and other behind-the-scenes news that isn't made public until much later.

It's sort of like having a backstage pass to News. Check it out at

Other updates:

Since Amazon.com has launched a "Green" shopping channel on its website, we've added a small "Go Green" banner to our article pages. It's nice to know Amazon is aware of the importance of offering green products, so we want to support that.

Of course, the way to really be green is don't buy anything at all (stop consuming!). But that's not going to happen for most people, so the green options are far better than the non-green options.

We've had a LOT of feedback about the critical article on Michael Phelps promoting sugary breakfast cereals. Some has been positive, some negative. But wait until you see the article we're working on today. It turns out Frosted Flakes isn't the only junk food Phelps is promoting...

Thanks for your continued readership, and we remain in your service, bringing you the most informative articles, interviews and product reviews to help empower you with the knowledge you need to live a long, happy and healthy life!