Publishers and Twitter

Ron Mwangaguhunga's Blog
4 ways publishers should be using Twitter

Magazines and particularly newspapers still have immense social power and influence despite their all too well publicized circulation and revenue slides. Twitter can help publishers capitalize on that social power, serving up a more effective user experience. Microblogging to its fullest potential means finding interesting solutions to common online publishing problems, for example:
Filtering out irrelevant comments. In the best of all possible worlds, moderators would be omnipresent. In reality, publishers of high traffic, lean staffed sites -- even with filters -- cannot be everywhere at once. Tweets, from respected community members in particular, can serve as some of the best tips in keeping comment sections -- the wild west of online publishing -- significantly less lawless.
The Huffington Post posted on the death of Segway founder Jimi Heselden today, and the commenters, as they sometimes do, went to a bad place. Journalist Staci D. Kramer soonafter tweeted: "For the HuffPo commenters who can't resist making fun of the Segway owner's death, try harder. Imagine your own family." A little over an hour later, Craig Kanalley, the Traffic & Trends Editor for The Huffington Post, responded "Yes, I couldn't agree more. Our moderators are all over it now, so thanks for the tip."
An elegant solution. In a little over two hours, the entire tenor of the comments section was more suited to an online publication that now considers their competition as comprised of news sites like CNN.com and NYTimes.com.
Promoting Live Events. Never underestimate the power of celebrity (or, "internet celebrity") on Twitter. The microblogging site, which is about to unveil its "Promoted Accounts" at Advertising Week, is also good forum for generating referrals to live events. Katie Couric of CBS News, for example, is celebrating the one-year anniversary of her web show today with a live Q&A. CBS News on Twitter is encouraging followers to ask questions by tweeting with the hashtag #askKC.
Trending topics. What is a trending topic in DC? In LA? In London? Localized Twitter Trending Topics algorithms are still evolving, but they are a pretty good gauge as to what people are talking about -- in 140 characters or less -- around the world on the site.
Feedback. Tips and comments and suggestions should always be welcome in the digital age. What stories work? What stories just aren't effective? In the old days those question were often answered at a glacial pace about the speed of a snail mail letter to the editor. No longer. Microblogging is a far more practical and immediate way to get editorial feedback and see, in real time, how, via the twitterverse, a story circulates acround the web.