The Gray Lady wants a spot on your buddy list.

On Thursday, The New York Times (NYT) rolled out the beta launch of its TimesPeople social network.

The new feature will let registered users of NYTimes.com share Times stories, post comments and maintain a personal page.

As the frequently-asked questions section points out, however, TimesPeople should not be confused with Facebook or MySpace (NWS).

“You won’t have Times friends, and it won’t get you Times dates,” the FAQ says. “Instead you’ll assemble a network of Times readers. Then you’ll be able to share interesting things on NYTimes.com with others in the network."

In late afternoon trading, New York Times class A shares were up $.02, or .1 percent, to $16.18.

A Firefox browser add-on is required to use the beta release, but when TimesPeople has its official debut later this year, no plug-in will be required.

The new feature arrives as the New York Times Company’s top shareholder, Harbinger Capital Partners, a hedge fund that has amassed a 19.8 percent stake, presses management to advance digital initiatives.

Harbinger, in alliance with Firebrand Partners, had threatened a proxy battle to unseat the board of directors. In a compromise, management agreed to increase the board size from 13 to 15 members and support a nominee from Firebrand and one from another investment fund, Kohlberg & Company.

The company is controlled by the Sulzberger family, whose ownership of super-voting class B stock gives it sway over the board of directors.
 

On Wednesday, the company reported that revenue declined 6.6 percent in May, dragged down by an 11.9 percent decline in advertising sales.

Revenue at Internet businesses, including About.com, climbed 9 percent, aided by a 14 percent increase in ad revenues. Online units accounted for 12.1 percent of May revenue versus 10.4 percent in the year-ago period.

Disclosure: none

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Ken Schachter

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