Google News drops rarely used comments feature

Google has dropped  a feature that allowed those quoted in an article to leave comments on the stories in Google News.

Because this feature was open only to those affiliated with the story, all the comments were supposed to be relevant and add context to the story. But apparently the feature was rarely used. However, you may recall that when the feature first launched in August 2007, it spurred a modest frenzy within the PR community that we reported on.

But even in 2007, the feature had its prescient skeptics. Among them, Frank Shaw, president of the Microsoft at Waggener Edstrom. He told PRWeek at the time, "I am extremely skeptical that it will really get legs."