Newspapers and Social Power

A recent (Nov/Dec 2008) survey by Gartner Inc. Analysts said that newspapers are faced with declining circulations, falling offline and online revenue, and competition from digital sources, but are failing to capitalize on their biggest supporters, their readers.

In many ways, sharing content has become the substitute for commenting on content - the act of recommending, linking, and liking is an indication that the content is relevant and useful. People share expertise, even that of others, to improve their self-confidence.

This also the other angle. That of the social power. For users and for the publishers. As more and more journalists are measured by clicks and page views, they have the opportunity to become sources of influence with good quality content. Will that content chronicle our current age? There are journalists who are going hyper-local.

The Web is not just a place to upload content to - the same content of print - it's a way to create opportunity for people to interact with that content. Google proved that interactivity and relevance go hand in hand with an advertising model.

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