So why did msnbc.com buy EveryBlock?

This raises some interesting opportunities — and challenges — for msnbc.com.

The acquisition of Newsvine two years ago was, in hindsight, a good fit, giving the site a well-organized presence in social media and a permanent home for the hundreds of thousands of comments and votes on our coverage. On first evaluation, the utility of EveryBlock to a nationally oriented site like msnbc.com doesn't seem so obvious — how much traffic is an automated crime report for the 1200 block of University Avenue in Seattle, for instance, going to generate outside of the few blocks around it?

But consider that often the first player in a new online form has ended up establishing the standard for that form. It seems likely that Adrian Holovaty (who is a very smart man) and his team, with real funding behind them, could end up establishing the template for hyperlocal data aggregation. That would make EveryBlock — and by extension, msnbc.com — a very powerful force in whatever monetization news organizations will be able to spark from local news coverage.

(Disclaimer: While I work for msnbc.com, I do not speak for it in any way, much to its relief.)

From the article:

"Msnbc.com has acquired EveryBlock, a Chicago-based Web site that offers news and information down to the neighborhood level in 15 cities, the two companies announced Monday."

Full story (msnbc.com)