One more proof of Marshall McLuhan’s adage that "the medium is the message," The Huffington Post’s latest incarnation, HuffPost Live, launched yesterday. Proffering 12 hours of live weekday programming, the streaming web channel is a mash-up of hosted segments and user-generated content.

In combining the immediacy and reach of the Internet with the power of live television, the effort evokes buzz phrases like "engagement through second-screen vision." “We’re at this moment where people are much more interested in participating than they are in sitting back,” says Roy Sekoff, HuffPost’s founding editor and longtime Arianna wingman. “Engagement is more important than consumption. We decided to double down on that engagement, make it our North Star.” 

Huffington introduced the live stream with the hoopla of yore suited to a cable network launch, setting forth the mission and paying tribute to itself. “Seven years ago, HuffPost disrupted the way people engage with news. And now, with HuffPost Live, you’re invited to be part of a different kind of conversation, whoever you are, wherever you are.”Continue reading...

The Mexican men’s national soccer team beat the United States in the biennial CONCACAF Gold Cup last weekend. The game was played in Southern California, where the stands of the Pasadena Rose Bowl were packed with 93,000 fans, mostly rooting for Mexico, according to Reuters.

The team averaged 71,500 fans per game in the six games it played at different venues in the Cup, Reuters adds, resulting in a “home field” advantage of sorts. It makes sense, of course, since the Hispanic population of America is growing rapidly.Continue reading...