Blinkx and the Times Online, the Web site of British newspapers The Times and The Sunday Times, have launched a co-branded toolbar called Times Online Smart Search.
Blinkx and The Times both feel that the new desktop search and news offering will revolutionize the way Times readers get their daily news. The partnership should work well for both companies. Blinkx will benefit from the strong brand and loyal reader base that have followed The Times and having a popular distribution channel in The Times Online. The Times will benefit via expanding their frequency to existing readers who download the search tool and fortifying that relationship by serving contextually targeted news stories to those readers.
Users who download the toolbar will be able to use it to search their desktop and receive content from the Times through an upgraded version of the Blinkx News channel.
We are pleased to offer this service to our readers, said Peter Bale, Online Editorial Director of Times Online. Search is a crucial part of the web, and the blinkx desktop search is industry-leading technology. Times Online Smart Search will give our readers a trusted source on their computers to access Times Online, search other news sites and in its advanced form, search the Net and their own PCs. We are initially offering the blinkx-powered Times Online Smart Search on a beta basis and hope our readers will join with us in this exciting new service.
For example, a reader browsing web sites about the current football season will be automatically linked to breaking football news reports from Times Online.
Blinkx and Times Online will also introduce customized Smart Folders, which automatically updates and add content based on the range of popular topics including today’s headlines, world news and sports coverage.
Suranga Chandratillake, Blinkx CTO and Founder said, “Given the sheer amount of content on the web, busy readers need all the help they can get to make sure they stay up to date with things that matter to them and that they get information from trusted, quality sources. While web-based newspaper sites and RSS have helped us all stay more connected throughout the day, they still depend on users explicitly and proactively expressing their interests.
Just as important as speed and relevance, however, is quality, which is why we are extremely proud to be working with Times Online. The Times is one of the world’s oldest and most respected sources of news and the Times Online has a long history of innovation on the web; from our point of view a truly fantastic combination.
Blinkx’s technology understands what you are interested in literally every second of the day and we can use that to make sure you know what you need to know – even if you did not know you had to know it!