Business Insider using Google Chrome to attract more readers

Business Insider launched its first Google Chrome extension Wednesday, designed to give desktop internet users a chance to get a snapshot of what’s just been published on the site, reports Max Willens of Digiday.

Willens writes, “Here’s how it works: After readers install the extension on their computer’s browsers, every new tab they open won’t just have Google’s homepage. Instead, it will feature nine tiles of content, including one dedicated to video, another that provides a stock market snapshot via Markets Insider, and seven additional tiles of the most recent stories published on the site. The tiles update in real time, with the video tab housing the most recent video that B.I. has published, and the articles all pulled from the most recent.

“‘BI’s all about what you need to know,’ said Thomas Greaney, the general manager of Markets Insider and the leader behind the extension product. ‘It’s about being concise.’

“Chrome extensions are by no means a new thing for publishers: Startups like Currently and Roost began building them for publishers including The Guardian and USA Today as early as 2010. And while updates to Chrome, Firefox and other browsers have changed the way publishers use browsers, extensions haven’t completely fallen out of favor. Earlier this year, the German publisher Bild, one of B.I.’s sister publications, launched a Chrome extension to give its readers news and real-time updates during the European Championships, an app that continues to drive regular traffic to the site.”

Read more here.