News feed idea - Need your opinion of the concept

[jam937]

I wanted to get some feedback on an idea I had. Any other feedback would be greatly appreciated. If you think I'm crazy and your being honest then I'd rather know now then later.

Here is the general concept:

1. Provide a news feed that can be used on commercial websites
-- most news feeds are for non-commercial use or contain ads
2. Be much cheaper then the competition
-- two of the larger companies charge $2400/yr per category
-- I'm thinking more around $99/yr (or less) per category
3. Data would include headlines, dates and full story content
4. Data would be actual news and not contain ads or links
5. Subscribers could choose from 20 categories
-- top stories, finance, science, health, etc
6. News would be pushed (POST'd, etc) out to subscribers hourly
-- less bandwidth then linking every hit back to a main website
7. Subscribers can store and use the data any way they like
-- except reselling as content
8. Subscribers could incorporate directly into their own content

My questions are:

1. Will this idea work?
If yes then ..
2. How much could I charge? (5/mo, 50/yr, 99/yr, etc)
3. Do I charge per category? (25/yr/category?)
4. How can I market this idea?
5. Would an affiliate/commission program work or just complicate things?


Thanks

[Michael Allison]

1. Will this idea work?

Yes, but it's not a new idea. Look for MSN and Yahoo for competition, I believe. I can't remember who, exactly, will be doing this. I am 99% certain that its one or both of those, though. Within six months it will be live, I believe.

2. How much could I charge? (5/mo, 50/yr, 99/yr, etc)

If I'm right about #1, then you will have to charge based on Yahho and/or MSN. You will need to offer more for less.

3. Do I charge per category? (25/yr/category?)

This could be done for individual items, as well as entire sites. Once again, do some research on the plans you competition has aleady made.

4. How can I market this idea?

Try to get news coverage and articles written. You can write the articles yourself and submit them around and you can do a press release or two.

5. Would an affiliate/commission program work or just complicate things?

How are you going to entice site owners into running the feeds on their sites? I suggest cold hard cash.

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Now, go post an introduction, ok? We could always use another inspired idea person here.

[jam937]

Thanks for the feedback I really appreciate it.

I will investigate Yahoo and MSN. I did see an article about video services going to be provided by AOL and MSN. I don't think this would impact my idea significantly. Here's an excerpt:

"America Online Inc. and Microsoft Corp. yesterday announced separate deals with news organizations to add new video features to their Web services, developments that underscore how more mainstream media channels are going online."

"America Online's news channel, AOL.com, will feature CBSnews.com content and video on its home page. Separately, Microsoft's MSN and the Associated Press announced a partnership to develop an online video network that will stream video news feeds to Web sites that subscribe to AP's wire service."

[Michael Allison]

I wish I could remember where I read that bit and who, exactly, is involved. But, somebody has the same idea to use RSS as an ad feed, basically. The idea is to do exactly as you propose, to make shopping feeds based on categories. Not news feeds - product/site ad feeds.

Anyway, I think it's a great concept. It can certainly succeed, especially considering the all too common dissatisfaction with adsense. There is definitely a future in it, but I'm thinking the big boys will have it pretty well sown up.

Here's some links I just googled:

http://worcester.typepad.com/pc4medi...cial_rss_.html
http://rss.weblogsinc.com/2005/07/07...announcements/
http://channels.lockergnome.com/rss/...s/amazon.phtml
http://www.intel.com/intel/rss.htm

It's not a new concept. But, it hasn't taken off yet. There may well be an opportunity for a small-time company or individual to get a piece of the pie.

[jam937]

I think I am not explaining my idea well. It is not shopping or ads. Although that is a good idea also! It is news. Actual news you might see on CNN, ABC, CBS, Reuters, etc.

Here is an example data record:

Headline - IAEA Board to Vote on Iran Nuclear Issue Thursday
Date - 02/01/2006
Story - The United States and other permanent members of the Security Council agreed earlier this week in London to refer the issue of Iran's nuclear program to the council. <snip>10 more paragraphs</snip>


Actual news very similiar to what you might find in an RSS feed from Yahoo or Google with the additional of the actual stories as well. The difference is that almost all news RSS feeds, including Yahoo and Google, only allow for personal use. You cannot include this content in your website if you make money on your website. You can, but it violates the terms of service and possibly copyright infringement.

I want to provide a news feed that you can use on a commercial website. Very similiar to AllHeadlineNews (https://www.allheadlinenews.com/cgi-...ndividual.cgi?) but I want to charge significantly less for the data. AllHeadlineNews charges $2400 per year per category. I want to charge $99 per year per category.