NEWS junkies can now get an additional fix, by predicting the outcome of news stories – courtesy of an Edinburgh-based company.
Users of www.hubdub.com, which launches in the UK today and is already operating in the USA, use a pot of virtual money to place bets on the outcome of any of over 2,000 running news stories, covering the likes of politics, sport, business and entertainment.
That it’s ‘Hubdub dollars’ at stake has thus far been irrelevant – USA Hubdub users have shown themselves so competitive that the most important thing is that they can prove they were right.
How much is won or lost depends on not only how the news story turns out, but how others have predicted the outcome. Groups of friends can set up their own, dedicated leaderboard to show who has predicted most accurately.
allmediascotland.com is already negotiating becoming a partner.
Says co-founder, Lesley Eccles: “It’s great to be launching in the UK, despite the recession. People are going to be looking for free entertainment and will turn to the web to find it. Hubdub is free, exciting and keeps you informed. In addition, news sites are looking to engage and interact further with their readers and Hubdub gives them a fantastic means to do so.”
