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From techdirt:

Stuffy Economist Magazine Experiments With Social Media

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.

[via Techdirt]

The characterization of the Economist as “stuffy” has excited a few commentators. I must confess I’ve not read it in years but its reputation has always been for conservatism with a smallish ‘c’. A quick look at the online edition confirms that view to some extent, presenting the image of a serious, slightly pompous magazine proferring options that most Times readers would feel comfortable with – though Economist readers probably regard The Times as a little downmarket these days.

The readers of publications like the Economist have always been a very important part of their appeal. I’m sure I’m not the only person who finds that the letters page of many magazines present more stimulating reading than much else of their content. The blog format is a great way to translate the letters page to the online world as it offers the opportunity for immediate comment and participation.

Getting the character of a social networking forum right, as the Economist has arguably succeeded in doing, is a new skill: people are becoming increasingly choosy as the range of potential networking sites increases. Subtle differences in such areas as the modes of interaction, the amount of jargon used, typefaces, colours, and the level of advertising, will help to determine which sites capture their markets. Expect some really great user interface designers to set the bar – and the rest of us to strive to emulate them.