Sponsored channels, whereby companies brand vertical segments of content, are all the rage from online communities like YouTube to traditional media such as Reuters. Yesterday, SlideShare, the popular slide sharing application, launched a new service called Channels that allows companies to custom brand microsites within the professional slide sharing community. The majority of SlideShare's community are business decision makers, and businesses can now sponsor topical channel content (presentations, whitepapers and webinars) or create branded channels. The company has signed up the likes of Adobe, Ogilvy, Microsoft, Razorfish Marketing and The White House for the service.

“Our vision is to build a new type of advertising that both community and advertisers will embrace," said Rashmi...