(Bryan Rhoads, Editor-in-Chief of iQ at Intel's offices in the Presidio, San Francisco.)

Earlier today, I met the team responsible for this morning's launch of 'iQ by Intel', an online magazine featuring daily news and feature articles from around the globe plus original content from Intel.

The magazine is curated by Intel employees, choosing and sharing articles from a river of media content surfaced by special tools developed by Intel.

I was pleased to hear Bryan Rhoads, the mastermind behind the project, and its Editor-in-Chief, say that I was one of the people that inspired the venture with my writings about how every company is a media company.

Here are some of my notes from the meeting:

- The project began about a year ago and has about 160 Intel employees curating news and feature articles but the goal is to have more than 5,000 staff-those that have had social media training — take part in the daily selection process.

- 'iQ' is aimed at consumers. It is not about technology but what technology enables. The team liked my recent rant against "product journalism" in which I criticized the tech press for trying to scoop each other over leaked spec sheets for mass-produced products.

- The focus of 'iQ' is on tomorrow, on the 'how', on the types of things people can and will do with technology. The content of 'iQ' is not about the technology, it's about the context of that technology. Technology plays the role of a character in the story.

- There is a river of content surfaced in real-time by an algorithm, using a set of online sources vetted by Intel. From that river, content is chosen by Intel staff. There is also original content from Intel sources, such as Ken Kaplan's Intel Free Press, and The Creators Project, a joint venture with Vice Media.

- There are three sections: Media, Life, and Planet. Each story is color coded to identify its section. 

- About 50% of the content is original. The size of the tiles shows how much social media support each article has received. 

- There are plans to make the curation fun, and to introduce some game aspects to encourage more Intel staff to take part.

-'iQ' shares some back-end infrastructure with Intel's 'Cockpit' a social media monitoring tool it developed to track the flow of social media around key areas of focus for Intel.

- The interface is designed for touch screens. It looks much better on the iPad than on the desktop but it's a web app and not an app.

- There will be stories about rivals in the 'river' of content but because Intel staff don't like rivals those stories are unlikely to reach the front page.

- Most readers are expected to see individual story items, which will consist of a snippet of the original story and a link back to that source. 

- Traffic, and engagement by Intel staff, will be among the factors used to judge the success of the project.

- Readers will authenticate through Twitter. Readers can also share with their networks directly from the 'river.'

- 'iQ' has been well received by focus groups in Southern California.

- The project is about making best use of Intel capital -- its global workforce -- and engaging the social graph of Intel's staff. Intel employs the smartest people it can find, and 'iQ' will represent that collective intelligence.

(Some of the iQ team...)

 Exract from: iQ by Intel - iQ – A New Social Publishing Model

1. We have been inspired by writers and thought leaders such as Brian Solis(exploration of brand journalism), Tom Foremski (“Every Company is a Media Company) andJohn Battelle (writing on brand publishing), and by the AMEX Open Forum experience among other brands. Who better to help find and tell these stories than the engineers, scientists and visionaries who are helping design tomorrow’s technologies?

Our simple mission: Share and source content that inspires, educates, entertains and helps all of us to better understand our modern world. 

Technology is only as important as what people do with it. We hope iQ becomes a place where people get inspired to connect and collaborate with others interested in improving life and our planet through the benefits of Moore’s Law.

We’re pleased to have you with us on this journey.

Bryan Rhoads  - iQ Editor-in-Chief
Intel Social Media Center of Excellence

The iQ team:

• Bryan Rhoads - iQ Editor-in-Chief


• Luke Kintigh – iQ Managing Editor


• Becky Brown – Global Director of Media


• Renee Edwards – Social Community Management


• Jennifer Lashua – Consumer Social Media


• Ekaterina Walter – Global Social Network Strategy


• Kathleen Malone – Social Engagement & Media


• Regis Crawford – Social Programs


• Ali Ardalan – Social Tools & Analytics