Stuffy Economist Magazine Experiments With Social Media
from the Sir, dept
One of the mistakes many companies make when trying to embrace social networking or social media is to think that they should just build their own version of MySpace, or clone of some other popular site. For various reasons, these attempts almost always end up as failures. Jane Galt, who writes for The Economist, points to a nice example of how her magazine is turning letters to the editor into a form of social media that makes sense for the publication. Basically, they've decided to publish, in the form of a blog, all of the letters they receive (excluding ones that are patently offensive). There's also a comments section for each one, so that the letters they receive don't just serve as static items, but as conversation starters. Already, within a few days of launching, plenty of people are commenting on each other's letters. It helps, of course, that The Economist has a rather intelligent readership, so there are plenty of good letters that they don't have space to publish in the print version. It's obviously not a radical step, but it's an interesting experiment that shows how publications should be thinking about social media.
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Brilliant idea...
but shouldn't The Economist go further to service their stuffy audience?
They should have a search engine that matches readers to people with similar bow ties or turtle necks. Or dating service that matches people by their Mutual Funds.
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Re: Brilliant idea...
That is not as brilliant as it sounds. The Economist is, in my opinion, one of the best publications around. I don't know of a better magazine to get global political news. There is a lot more there that high-brow articles and mutual fund stats. I wonder if you ever really read it? Maybe you enjoy your ignorance?
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Old Media
The Economist's site is pretty good by "old media" standards. In addition to the new letters to the editor section they have several blogs (although they're difficult to navigate to from the homepage) with open comment sections and a del.icio.us style tagging feature.
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stuff?!?
I've been reading The Economist for 15 years. "Stuffy" is not the word. The magazine is written with a wry and very British sense of humor. I suppose it requires a certain degree of intelligence to appreciate this.
It does seem to have an image problem, though. I once very happily bought a copy at Miami airport (it can be hard to find in the US) while on my way to somewhere else. As I was standing in line to pay for it, the woman behind me looked over my shoulder and gasped: "You actually read that?!?"
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Re: stuff?!?
The economist is neat. Even as they constantly reveal their unique worldview through their wit, the reporters have an old guard feel that makes me feel like they can offhandedly toss out articles with more journalistic integrity and objectivity than anyone else without even having to try. A novice is distracted by the surface level sarcasm. Beneath it is guys telling it like they see it.
Thats how I see it, anyway. It is a refreshing publication.
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Re: stuff?!?
It is one of the best publications. My wife got me a gift subscription as a Christmas present a few years back. One of the best presents I ever got.
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Alert!
Note to any and all media companies out there: This is an example of using your web site properly. It enhances the user experience and gives your site real value. Pay attention!
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The Colonist
I don't know, I find many of their articles about the US and Japan to be misinformed. It reads like the perspective of a European who thinks he's smart.
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The economist is, and probably always will be my favourite magazine. It's nice to see that they are keeping with the times by including more readers in the presentation, but I suspect that its chief successes will always lie with its sharp team of staff writers.
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A Good Idea
The Economist is very well written and incredibly info-dense. I always get some unique and usable perspective when I find the time to read an issue or part of one.
The idea of converting letters to the editor into the foundation for a community is inspired.
I would, however, be interested in reading a blog of the offensive letters to the editor by the moonbat nutters. I need more comedy blogs to enjoy.
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Thanks Joe!
I just ordered my 4 trial copies.
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iMPROVE PARTICIPATION
using a blog-like structure would improve participation, since readers can follow complex threads more easily. Also, it allows people to post quick comments and add-ons more easily than using a print-only letters page.
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What do the Economist's journalists read?
I like the Economist; the writing is terse, funny, pithy and accurate.
They identify trends years before others notice.
They select the important numbers and create wonderful graphs and tables
to show complex ideas clearly.
My own quote is:-
"Other journalists read the Economist.
What do the Economist's journalists read?"
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Reading behind The Economist
"Other journalists read the Economist.
What do the Economist's journalists read?"
They read news articles from other sources!
If I'd known the newspaper's website was going to get all bloggy on me, I would have kept my online research notes when I worked there (not a writer, a research assistant) to show you!
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