Breaking stories now just a 'click and push' away

                                           

Cape Town – News24 users can now opt to be notified of breaking stories with instant notifications sent directly to their web browser.

From Friday morning, visitors to the News24, Fin24 and Sports24 sites have been presented with a pop-up box that allows them to click and sign up for the service.

Subscribers receive small "push" notifications, either in their Google Chrome or Safari browsers, or on their computer screen if the browser is closed.

“We tend to push only big or important stories and don’t overuse it. These notifications are not as disruptive as a phone notification," said 24.com product manager Heinz Oldewage.

"On a phone you have to stop what you are doing. The browser notifications don’t disturb your workflow and stay on the screen until you click on it or dismiss it."

Oldewage said these types of notifications were first used with great success and engagement for load shedding service Gridwatch. 

"With this new service, it allows us to track user engagement and determine whether to follow up on popular stories with more information."

Quite a few people had already subscribed since the launch on Friday morning, said Oldewage.