Infinite Path

It is understood that the BBC is set to start work on a radical relaunch of its website in order to incorporate more social media-friendly elements. The altered website, which is expected to be unveiled at some point during spring next year, will seek to take advantage of the unexpected boom in popularity experienced by social media websites over the past several years.

The BBC’s plan to embrace social media to a greater extent on its websites may start gathering pace as early as this weekend, with certain social media applications likely to be added to the existing site in a move which could act as a trial run before next year’s large-scale relaunch. Viewers of the BBC’s online coverage of the popular show, Strictly Come Dancing, may be among the first to experience this new side to the corporation’s online presence.

Exact details of what the new site will look like and what kind of applications it will feature have not yet emerged. However, Anthony Rose, the BBC’s controller of Vision and Online, revealed that users will be able to “comment on particular moments while watching and see what other users said about the same moment”. Rose also explained that the BBC will attempt to incorporate a ratings system alongside this feature, perhaps in an attempt to capitalise upon the popularity of social media sites such as Digg.

The new BBC website is also likely to place greater emphasis upon what the corporation prides itself on: breaking news. Officials at the BBC are becoming increasingly concerned that a large proportion of users do not realise that the corporation produces approximately 500 stories each and every day, along with a wealth of relevant, local content. The relaunch, as well as prioritising social media, will also aim to present the BBC as the definitive site for up-to-date breaking news stories.