links for 2009-01-15

"As I wrote a while back, newspapers wouldn't think of not doing print promotion or keeping their newsboxes working to collect those precious quarters. But they don't seem to understand that in the Web world, skills like search-engine optimization are just as important to success, and that they need to have those skills on staff."

"What makes a blog a 'blog' are the social and cultural practices that have developed alongside this new web-based delivery system. In other words, the technology and history of blogs has resulted in certain generic conventions, much like the evolution of print led to a set of conventions."

"Do more than just submit stories. Regularly vote on other stories that you like on the site, and even interact with the community by leaving thoughtful comments and additional insight where you are able to. Even if not promoting a story, set aside a few minutes a day to be active on the site. Social media needs a 100% commitment to the community, and those who aren’t willing to put in the work will stick out."

"In some cases, ghost writing makes sense and its acceptable...but in general I strongly caution against ghost writing anything on any social media platform."

"However when I suggested the use of Twitter on the site to the digial editors at the paper, it was quickly dismissed...The digital team went on to say that they had tried Twitter on their larger, sister publication Express and Star. It was used in the same way as the Birmingham Post use their account. But it has been branded unsuccessful as 'it doesn’t actually bring any traffic into the site at all'. Is this really the sole point of Twitter?"