I came across The Baltimore Sun’s “Social Sun” page last week. At first, I assumed that it would be a page with links to the some of the newspaper’s blogs, a Twitter account and maybe a Facebook page…I learned that I need to stop making assumptions. The “Social Sun” page is a manifestation of an absolutely awesome social media hub.
What makes Social Sun so awesome?
1)Twitter links-I’m not talking links to a handful of the Sun’s editors Twitter profiles, but more like a huge representation of the staff, right down to the HR person. The links are separated into categories such as “money and spending,” “news,” “entertainment” and more. All the staffers’ updates are compiled into a feed on the top of the page. The Social Sun even includes “featured locals” and “fun to follow” tweeters.
2) Covering all the bases-The Twitter directory is both interesting and helpful, but it’s not all that is included on the Social Sun page. There are links and updates from The Sun’s Facebook Fan Page and updates streamed from the Sun’s blogs. There are also links to digg articles submitted from baltimoresun.com. By submitting their links to digg, the Sun provides another outlet for users to comment on their articles, and increases the amount of exposure that each article gets.
3) Engaging the audience- The page features “Your photos” streaming from the Baltimore Sun’s Flickr group and it invites users to “Join the group.” The Sun also asks users for feedback through polls. The one that is currently on the page asks users: “What would you like to see us add to The Baltimore Sun site?” This does more than engage the audience. It provides the Sun with valuable feedback that will enable them to continually advance their page in a way that will keep people coming back.
With newspaper readership and ad revenue decreasing, 2009 has been coined “the year the newspaper died,” but the Baltimore Sun isn’t cowering in defeat. With The Baltimore Sun having such an impressive online presence, it’s a promising sign for the future of newspapers.
The Baltimore Sun is embracing new media and proving to all of us that “traditional” media companies don’t have to delivery the news traditionally. The crew at the Sun isn’t just sticking their toes in the water, they are diving right in. And if you ask me, they’re making a huge splash.
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