Co. Dublin, Ireland — 28 Nov. 2008 — Independent.ie Ireland’s number one news and information portal – the website of the Irish Independent newspaper – aims to attract and retain readers online and extend its reach further through the use of next generation semantic web.

Independent.ie Ireland’s number one news and information portal – the website of the Irish Independent newspaper – aims to attract and retain readers online and extend its reach further through the use of next generation semantic web.
The Independent.ie’s next generation semantic web, provided by Inform Technologies, is cutting edge technology that automatically identifies people, companies, places, organisations and products as they appear in Independent.ie content. This allows for an enriched and unparalleled user experience, unrivalled in Irish news portals.
Ian Byrne, Managing Director, Independent Digital states: “The Independent.ie website has become deeper and more engaging, meaning that readers spend more time on the site and view more pages. The ability to pull contextually-related content from our own vast archives, as well as related articles, audio, video and blogs from sources all over the web, is a prime example of how Independent.ie is using state of the art technology to provide our readers with a more comprehensive, timely and entertaining view of news and information.”
James Satloff, CEO of Inform Technologies states: “Media companies everywhere need to create compelling online experiences that attract and retain readers. For Independent.ie, there is the added challenge, and also the opportunity to compete for online readership – not just in the home market but on a global stage.”
Patrick Lenehan, CTO Independent Digital states: This ‘top down’ semantic web initiative is proof of Independent Digital’s ongoing commitment to innovation and to working with best in class technology partners. Reader feedback is that they enjoy the new user experience because it helps them unlock more relevant information about subjects that interest them. The SEO boost is also very strong, as Independent.ie now has dedicated Topics pages on thousands of subjects from Lehman Brothers to Manchester United.
Independent.ie is also part of Independent Digital’s commitment to research and development of its online product mix. Tools such as RSS Feeds of all sections, along with newer features such as social bookmarks, allow users to store, tag and share links across the internet. Not content with that, Independent.ie has also been updating its breaking news and has also run a very successful customised Galway Races project on Twitter.
A serious investment and attention to search engine optimisation in 2008, means that Independent.ie has grown traffic considerably and is consistently ranked at the top of search engine results pages. 
 
 

ENDS

NOTE TO EDITOR:
About Independent.ie
Independent.ie is the website of Ireland’s highest circulation newspaper, the Irish Independent. It publishes over 300 new articles per day have has a vast archive of several million articles. The website is published by Independent Digital, the digital division of Independent News & Media (INM) in Ireland.
Independent.ie provides unrivalled news content and services to a global audience. Leveraging core content from leading national newspapers such as the Irish Independent and Sunday Independent, as well as breaking news, regional news, entertainment guides and classifieds content from recruitment, property and motoring sister sites, Independent.ie is Ireland’s number one news and information portal.
To learn more about Independent.ie, please contact Aisling Nagle at + 353 1 705 5747 or anagle@independent.ie
About Inform Technologies
Inform Technologies is a new technology solution for established media brands that automatically searches, organises and links content to provide a rich, compelling experience that attracts and retains readers. Inform’s journalistic technology platform does the work necessary to support an editorial team, continually teaching itself how information is related and automatically updating links and topics as the context changes. Inform uses artificial intelligence tools, natural language processing, identification of topics, and the continual scanning and processing of content as it is published anywhere on the Internet. Inform is a Software Information Industry Association Finalist in the category of Best Content Aggregation Service and was founded in 2004.
To learn more about Inform Technologies or to schedule an interview, please contact Adria Greenberg of Sommerfield Communications at 212-255-8386 or adria@sommerfield.com