901am

New Media News Every Morning

Cat or Dog Health Issues? Try WebVet.

By

Last night I was searching Web MD high and low for a solution for my mother’s Trigeminal Neuralgia (ouch!).  While I never really uncovered a solution to ease the pain, one thing’s certain: there are no shortage of medical Web sites to scare the jeepers out of you.

However, should the health of your pet fail, it can be an equally alarming experience.  It looks like little Lucky is in luck!  Launching today is WebVet, a content repository for information on dogs, cat, bird and other small animals’ health issues.

From Lyme disease to rabies, you can uncover symptoms of each condition.  Twenty-five freelance writers produce the content. The cool part is that all articles are approved by a licensed veterinarian.  The site also indicates when the content was last reviewed for accuracy.

Current competition includes Petside.  Look for WebVet to expand its offering to exotics, fish and farm animals in the near future.

Lazy Husbands Learn How to Be Romantic

By

Tomorrow is my five year wedding anniversary. As I scramble to find a gift that’s made out of wood (because that’s what five year anniversaries demand), I was starting to wonder if I’ve lost some of my romantic edge. While the jury is still out on that one, there is a solution for those of you out there who think the spark has faded away.

HusbandHero.com is designed to scrape husbands up off the couch and train them on how to be romantic. The Web site hopes that by making romance convenient for busy husbands, couples can renew the excitement that brought them together in the first place.

The e-mail-based service delivers monthly romance how-tos to romantically-challenged husbands. There is also a place for wives to list their favorite things (hint, hint!) and remind husbands about important relationship milestones.

Cheaper than roses or chocolate, the service will run you approximately $1 a month; a small price to rekindle that passion.

Can’t We All Just Get Along? NO!

By

Fans of cable news talking heads can now get their non-stop debate fix at Opposing Views, a new Website that pits experts against each other.

From the economy to health issues, the environment to politics, you can expect to see all your favorite hot-button issues represented. behind the arguments are associations ans so-called ‘experts’ who state their case using text, images, video and links.

The stronger case will be determined by the readers who can comment and vote on who they think made the better argument. They also can get in on the action by adding their own debate comments.

Currently on the homepage, Obama’s economic advisor is duking it out with a McCain senior advisor. And a district attorney is taking on Amnesty International on capital punishment.

Many “experts” are willing to participate because they will increase exposure for their link as Opposing Views’ search rank cred rises.

The company launched in September 2007 and has raised approximately 1.5 million to date.

Google Fires Missile at Wikipedia With Knol

By

Hoping to capitalize on the dominance and growth of social encyclopedias, Google has Wikipedia in its cross hairs with Knol (includes shades of Squidoo and Mahalo).

Users can create a page on any topic that includes text, images and links.

Moderated collaboration will allow page creators to accept or reject edits and changes to each Knol.

Now why would you want to create a page? Google is allowing page owners to makes some cash by earning revenue through AdSense clicks.

As someone who once wasted money on a Million Dollar Wiki page, the concept sounds familiar. In fact, you’re probably already targeting popular keywords, eh?

The visibility of content is controlled by the reviews and comments left by visitors (these dictate ranking). Good content will be rewarded. Multiple pages can be created for the same topic or item.

Even if Knol scrapes away a small percentage of Wikipedia’s audience, that will still be big traffic.

Propeller Launches a New Design

By

You pick the news. At least that’s what Propeller wants you to do. Netscape’s Digg clone slash phoenix rising from the ashes has undergone a redesign.

Gone is the traditional up/down voting system. Present is a brand new mascot who looks like Mr. Belvedere and Ask Jeeves’ love child with a George Jetson twist.

The site will still rely on a team of editors and feature a limited number of categories. Personally, I’ve never experienced the Propeller-effect, which by all accounts is much smaller than the Digg-effect. Perhaps this will change as AOL continues to raise the profile of the destination.

The good news is, currently, all stories are entering with a 10.0 rating – so get your butt over there and submit – and you might land on the homepage!