Newsvine looks nothing like the usual news Web site. On a given day, the site can hold dozens of user comments about a British newspaper analysis of trans-Atlantic relations; a first-person essay by an American soldier titled “What My Life in Iraq Is Like” and a link to a new music video by Avril Lavigne.
As a social news source, Newsvine directly reflects the interests of its audience by encouraging users to write articles, comment on other articles and post links to relevant sites. And now it is getting a corporate parent: MSNBC Interactive News is expected to announce its acquisition of the company today, in a move that accentuates the increasing importance of community features on news Web sites.
The deal represents the first acquisition in the 11-year history of MSNBC.com and one of the first times that a leading news Web site has purchased a social news source. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Here's the Newsvine seed on this very topic. And here's some others: