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Webware Radar: Allvoices brings credibility to citizen journalism

Also: TripAdvisor launches search engine showing the real cost of travel; O'Reilly suspends Web 2.0 Expo in Europe; and Sears launches home improvement auction site.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
Don Reisinger
2 min read

Allvoices.com has launched a Credibility Meter across its citizen news service. According to the company, the Credibility Meter will be placed at the bottom of every news story to help readers determine the trustworthiness of a particular citizen journalist's postings on the site. The final determination of an author's credibility is based on how well the community likes content from the author, how well the community enjoys a particular report, how many contributors are writing on the same topic, and how many mainstream sources have supporting content about the report. The Credibility Meter is live now.

TripAdvisor launched a search engine Thursday night that will pull flight and fare data from multiple airlines and online travel agencies, the company announced. The search engine offers a fee estimator that will include the cost of checking bags, buying food in-flight, and more. The search engine is available now.

The O'Reilly community blog in Germany announced Friday that the Web 2.0 Expo in Europe, which is typically held in Berlin, Germany, each year, will not be held in 2009 due to poor worldwide economic conditions. The event's backers said that any of those companies that would still like to attend O'Reilly's Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco this year can enter to win a $1,000 travel fund by using the code websf09eu when they sign up for the event. The fund will give the winner three free nights in San Francisco during the Web 2.0 Expo.

Sears announced Thursday that it has launched an online marketplace designed for those who want improvements and repairs done in their home. Dubbed ServiceLive.com, the site aims at connecting Sears customers with local service providers and uses an auction system that lets those servicepeople bid to do the user's requested work. The original bid is set by the user and subsequent to that, companies will bid lower to get the person's business. The site is in beta and live now.