Guardian chooses Pluck to power social networking

by Andrew McCormick, Media Week 07-Jan-08, 15:00

LONDON - Guardian Unlimited, the most visited UK newspaper online, is set to jump on the social networking bandwagon after striking a deal with Pluck, a provider of social networking platforms.

The deal will see Guardian News and Media, which publishes The Guardian and The Observer, roll out tools on its web properties, enabling users to interact with one another and add content to existing articles.

Pluck, a technology provider based in the US, offers a range of social media tools including blogs, photos, videos, comments, reviews and ratings.

The company already powers interactive tools on the internet editions of media such as The Washington Post, Reuters and The Economist.

Guardian Unlimited, which houses Guardian.co.uk and Observer.co.uk, recorded 17.5 million unique users in November 2007, holding on to the number one spot in the UK, despite a 1million drop from the previous month.