Google Encourages Reading News With Google Badges

If you’re an avid follower of news, irrespective of the beat, and spend a considerable chunk of your online time rummaging through articles, then this might interest you. Search giant, Google has come up with a unique offering.

A basketball fan's badge collection

Beginning solely for U.S.-based customers, at least for now, Google plans to reward avid news readers based on the number of articles they manage to read over a period of time on Google News. The more articles of a particular beat one reads, the higher are his chances of earning a Google News Badge. An average, regular reader will find himself worthy of the bronze badge, and then as he increases the number of his news pieces read, he’ll find himself earning Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The best of the lot, will win themselves the Ultimate badge – the highest level.

According to an official blogpost, Google currently has a collection of over 500 badges on itself. So users can choose to enhance their proficiency in any level and begin earning badges. Additionally, Google also lets users share their badge collection with their friends, share their expertise, or stay private about it.

In order to avail the services, users will have to visit the Google News service after they sign-in to their Google account, with their web history enabled. Once there, users can visit the Help Centre page for further instructions.