Google Assistant users will get a list of positive stories about people and groups making a difference.
If you've ever felt worn out by the daily stream of bad news and alarmingly red "Breaking News" chyrons, Google is right along with you. To alleviate the stress of tough news days, Google has created the "Tell Me Something Good" feature for Google Assistant, which allows you to call out to the smart device for some good news.
When you say to Google Assistant, "Hey Google, tell me something good," it will automatically give you a news summary featuring what Google calls "Solutions journalism." The stories are curated by the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization working with journalists to highlight "how problems are solvable and that doing better is possible."
"These days we're consuming more news than ever, and sometimes, it can feel like there are only problems out there. But the fact is, there is a plethora of 'good news' happening, and we're not talking about unlikely animal friendships or random acts of kindness," Google Creative Producer Ryan Burke wrote in a blog post announcing the new feature.
"Real people are making progress solving real issues--and hearing about those stories is a crucial part of a balanced media diet."
Google made a point of saying that the news stories found with this feature won't just be about fun topics or celebrity news. In his blog post, Burke cites positive, but substantive, stories like beekeepers in Detroit reviving the industry there and a university in Georgia using data to help African-American students graduate.
In their own post on Medium about the partnership with Google, Solutions Journalism Network said they work each day to spotlight positive efforts by people across the world to make a difference.
"'Tell me something good' is an experiment meant to get these stories into your hands. We hope it's an easy way for you to get a daily dose of news that doesn't just shed light on problems, but offers stories of how they were confronted, and what lessons were learned," they wrote.
The feature is only available in the US but is accessible on any Assistant-enabled device such as your smartphone or Smart Display.
"Solutions journalism empowers and energizes audiences, helping to combat negative news fatigue. It's an important part of a balanced news diet, so we're exploring how to incorporate more solutions journalism wherever you access Google News," Burke wrote.
"'Tell me something good' isn't meant to be a magic solution. But it's an experiment worth trying because it's good info about good work that may bring some good to your day."
*this article was featured on Download.com on August 22, 2018: https://download.cnet.com/blog/download-blog/google-launches-tell-me-something-good-to-change-the-direction-of-news/