Google News Introduces Spotlight Video

Stop by an average American house any evening, and the odds are good you'll find the TV on.  You're much less likely to see someone curled up with a book.  Google may be onto something, then, as it's introduced a "Spotlight Video" section to Google News.

We'll admit: assuming you can read faster than a person is likely to speak, videos aren't the most efficient way of absorbing information.  Also, since lots of computer users share offices with other individuals, the videos might get passed over due to the distracting noise they'll generate.

Still, Google's algorithms have been tuned to emphasize interesting clips.  A post on the Google News Blog explained that spotlighted stories "aren't your typical breaking news.  Instead you'll find stories of enduring appeal such as feature articles, investigative reporting and opinion pieces."

So if you decide to go looking for it, the Spotlight Video section is in the right-hand column of Google News and perhaps around one-fourth of the way down the page (depending on what sort of layout you've selected).

Then there's one other, less significant change to Google News we might as well document: the post stated, "[Y]ou may have noticed we also modified the left-hand navigation.  Now, as you scroll down the page, the navigation menu will move with you.  This way, you can always see the sectional and hot topic quick links."

These updates are perhaps minor enough not to annoy anyone and yet substantial enough that some folks will happily take advantage of them.