BusinessWeek announced today the public launch of Business Exchange, an innovative online offering that aims to better serve the evolving information needs of business professionals.
Users can create, find and track business topics that are relevant and meaningful to them, as well as access, share, save and add links to articles, white papers and videos from all available content on the Web. In addition, visitors can connect with industry leaders, BusinessWeek editors and writers, and other professionals around business issues that matter the most to them.
Keith Fox, President of BusinessWeek said, “Business Exchange is a clear and unique step into the future of the media industry. We are breaking the traditional media mold by bringing together our users, readers, writers and editors and drawing on their collective wisdom. It demonstrates once again the depth of our commitment to serving business professionals and providing them with the information and insight they need to make better decisions in their businesses, investments and careers.”
BusinessWeek writers and editors will be actively involved in Business Exchange – as users – by building topic pages, submitting content and sharing insights. In addition, aggregated content that complements BusinessWeek’s own reporting in the print edition will be found on Business Exchange. The print feature formerly known as “Links” will be re-branded as “Business Exchange” beginning in the September 22nd issue.
Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler said, “Business Exchange is a natural extension of what we already do so well: Share great sources of information with our readers and separate what’s important from what’s not. As experts in their fields, our editors and writers will work side by side with users to create topics and build a dynamic, community-based resource.”
Topics on the Business Exchange will run the business spectrum; current topics range from Credit Crunch to Biofuels to Open Source Software. Each topic page will be populated with news, blog stories and reference items that users find useful or add themselves. Users also have the ability to save items for future reference and keep track of what others have saved through personal profiles.
“Because global business professionals’ information needs are constantly growing and changing, we developed this innovative Web property from the ground up to better serve them,” said Roger Neal, Senior Vice President and General Manager of BusinessWeek.com. “We believe Business Exchange sets us apart and positions BusinessWeek as an innovator and leader in media, product development and technology.”
“BusinessWeek’s strategy is to serve professionals by going deeper into a business vertical and focusing on actionable business insight and analysis,” said John A. Byrne, Executive Editor and Editor-in-Chief of BusinessWeek.com.
“Amid the multitude of media choices, Business Exchange fills a serious void by empowering business professionals to gain and share knowledge and connect with others.”
The introduction of social media in the business space creates a unique opportunity for advertisers. Business Exchange offers marketers a new kind of deep vertical targeting, delivering a narrowly focused audience to niche advertisers.
Business Exchange will be enhanced by two important partnerships. LinkedIn users can access and leverage their personal information on Business Exchange using their existing LinkedIn profiles. The blogosphere will also have a significant presence with contributions from Federated Media sites including Silicon Alley Insider, Searchblog and Duct Tape Marketing.
Business Exchange is available at http://bx.businessweek.com or on the BusinessWeek.com homepage.
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