As part of the Internet explosion that began in the early 2000s, USAToday.com has evolved from an online news media source to an on-demand, information-rich community. This movement toward online media was a result of rising newsprint costs, which, in fact, forced virtually all newspaper firms to add online news as a means to increase readership and cut distribution expenses. In addition, to align with the advancing pace of communication and technology, new GEO Craig Dubow announced his commitment to "getting news and information into the hands of consumers faster than ever before." To aid the company in this initiative, USAToday.com added blogs, RSS (really simple syndication), and podcasting to ensure that its news stayed relevant to busy and mobile readers. Gannett also purchased interest in a company with unique technology that aggregated news on the Internet and categorized the information into 300,000 topics. This technology also had the ability to sort information by zip code. Other acquisitions included PointRoll, a service that allowed Internet advertisers to expand their online space. One innovative way Gannett leveraged this service was to provide local advertisers with a means to direct consumers to local merchants. As a web user rolled the cursor over an ad, the ad expanded, revealing information about the closest retailer.