There are millions of blogs on the web and making sense of all of this user generated content can be a challenge. Israeli startup BloggerBase hopes to solve this problem by offering a competition-based discovery platform that aggregates content from bloggers for readers to sift through via topic or subject matter.
BloggersBase is made up of multi-authored blogs that cover a variety of popular topics. Writers submit their content to the blog and then the posts are read and rates by readers. Readers can rate content on professionalism, presentation, value and writing style. As a blog post gets high ratings, it rises to the top of the page. Each blogger has a profile where the writer is rated. with the number of posts and popularity.
BloggersBase is hoping to monetize its platform by offering a premium user generated content discovery and delivery platform for media companies to help sift through and organize citizen journalist’s content. For example, The Jerusalem Post is using BloggerBase’s technology to power a UGC submission contest.
In theory, the idea of BloggersBase, especially when it comes to its white label offering, is attractive. There is definitely a need for a mechanism by which you can sift through the millions of blogs in the blogosphere.
But the most significant challenge for BloggersBase is the ability to consistently attract the notice of blogs and readers. Without compelling content, the site won’t draw engaged readers. Of course, with the popularity of media companies incorporating UGC into their news platforms, such as CNN’s iReport, BloggersBase could provide media companies with an alternative way to sort through content.
Funded by Israeli entrepreneur Yossi Vardi and VoiP pioneer Jeff Pulver, BloggersBase faces competition from Digg, Helium, and Newsvine.