MUMBAI: US business and financial newspaper The Wall Street Journal has announced the beta launch of WSJ Social, a news app for Facebook allowing users to seamlessly read, share and comment on articles from the Journal within the Facebook environment.
Users can add the WSJ Social app to their Facebook account via http://social.wsj.com or by searching "WSJ.com" on Facebook.
Content includes articles and blogs from WSJ.com, including breaking news, columns, analysis and opinion. All content in WSJ Social is available for free for the first month courtesy of Dell, the exclusive launch advertiser for the app.
As part of this beta release, additional features, including customisation and further content integration, will be added in the coming days and weeks.
The Wall Street Journal Digital Network GM Alisa Bowen said, "We‘re breaking the mold of using Facebook simply to drive traffic to our websites and are now creating an opportunity to engage with the Journal directly on the Facebook platform WSJ Social creates a more integrated experience for users and innovative opportunities for advertisers."
WSJ Social users customise their own Journal experience by becoming "editors" and sharing stories, which then surface for others within their WSJ Social network. Users can also add to their "editor" list by selecting those who curate content of most relevance and interest to them. The top "editors" who amass the greatest following are recognised on a leaderboard in the app.
In addition, all Journal content shared - or ‘liked‘ - by a WSJ Social user within the app will be pushed to their main Facebook profile newsfeed.
"Because the capabilities of these platforms are evolving all the time, we‘ll be continuously developing WSJ Social in a range of directions - from additional custom views for our ‘editor‘ or integrating content from our other properties, such as MarketWatch, to new ways of sharing or ‘liking‘ the content," said Bowen.
Following the introductory period, content within the app will be a mix of free and subscriber-only content. The WSJ Social app will remain free to add, while full access to all content will be available via the Journal‘s Digital Bundle subscription, which includes access to WSJ.com as well as Journal apps for tablets and smartphones.
The launch of WSJ Social comes on the heels of the new WSJ Live interactive video app release. Both are integral to the company‘s ‘Journal Everywhere‘ strategy of making Journal content available wherever audiences are, with user experiences specifically designed for each platform.
