Alokananda Chakraborty
News

Rediff launches Personal Edition

Personal Edition aims to deliver “next generation content across multiple devices” to each of Rediff’s 22 million registered users

Rediff.com, the online provider of news, information, communication, entertainment and shopping services, yesterday announced the launch of Rediff Personal Edition at a press conference in Delhi. Using a series of in-house developed technologies, the Rediff Personal Edition, according to a prepared note by the company "will deliver next generation content across multiple devices to each of its 22 million registered users".

Speaking at the launch, Ajit Balakrishnan, CEO and Chairman, Rediff.com said, "With the robust growth in the Internet and telecom sector, Indians now are a much connected community. The Rediff Personal Edition offers the connected Indian relevant content and services that would keep track of his changing preferences," He added, "The convergence of Internet and cellular technologies are now an absolute reality with more and more consumers opting to check their email, news and other related services over their cell phones. The Rediff Personal Edition will further enhance this personal experience across devices and consumer offerings"

According to the Rediff brass Rediff Personal Edition offers ‘implicit' personalisation by publishing content relevant to individual users based on their surfing pattern on the website. The recommendation engine based on the theory of collaborative filtering figures out the reader and then recommends news stories of interest that have not been read by him. The categoriser - an artificial intelligence system sorts content by subject categories through a complex process of algorithms while the ‘related content' and ‘personalisation' engines together ensure users a personal surfing experience by providing content and services according to individual tastes and preferences.

As part of ‘explicit' personalisation, Rediff Personal Edition allows users to individually set up ‘topics of interest' according to their preference that are placed on the latter portion of the home page. Sections currently included are movies, cricket and sport, columnists, news, business (industry and company) and regional

In addition, Rediff Personal Edition sports a new contemporary design with a user-friendly navigation system. Discussion boards allow users to post their comments and also view related comments on a given story.

The Rediff Personal Edition also includes new services like match making, astrology and blogs that offer users a range of product and features tailored to individual needs. Blogs, a conversational and personal site that allows users to publish their thoughts and ideas directly to the web, is being introduced for the first time on any Indian site,

Rediff Personal Edition will soon relaunch the Hindi and Gujarati news editions and also provide a personal shopping experience. © 2003 agencyfaqs!

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