Connecting Old Media to Social Media-Did the New York Times miss the mark?

This morning the venerable NYT appointed a “Social Media Editor”, who ironically doesn’t seem to have much of a social media presence. While I welcome the NYT embracing social media, this appointment seems to be more PR than real change.

As far as I, and ReadWriteWeb as well, are concerned it’s Canada’s Globe & Mail that has the best social media strategy:

We would love to see Preston fill a role similar to what Mathew Ingram does at the Toronto Globe and Mail, Canada’s largest daily paper. Ingram’s position is “Communities Editor” but he interfaces with social media activities both on and off of the paper’s site. In a recent interview we did with Ingram he explained that “The transition from one-way to two-way media is not something that newspapers are used to doing. It’s a big change.”
Social media at newspapers doesn’t have to be about promotion or damage control, it’s also a real resource. “One thing I want to encourage more is writers responding to comments and using comments as a resource,” Ingram says. “That’s commenting 2.0, I think…One of the biggest things we need to do is identify and encourage members of the community who are thoughtful, intelligent, and produce comments of value — encouraging them to contribute more, elevating what they do and suppressing some of the noise.”

link: NYTimes Appoints First Social Media Editor

I chafe at seeing “social media” pulled out as separate from “other media”, social media is comprised of a set of tools that help people communicate, share information, and connect. These aren’t new activities by any means, we’re just able to do it all faster now.

What all forms of media just need to realize is that they just need to learn about the tools, see how they fit into their niche, and apply them.

This isn’t rocket science or something that requires secret incantations to make work. It takes work to make it work. It means sitting down with people who know how to leverage the various social media tools in different scenarios and being open to applying them.

Just as your business will not be saved or magically transformed the moment you start blogging, nor will it become an instant sensation on Twitter or Facebook the moment you sign in there either.

Appointing a Chief Social Media Officer or Social Media Editor, belies the fact we all need to adopt and learn social media tools and tactics in our day-to-day work. We don’t get a pass with a C-level person at the helm, we get a personal challenge to step up to the plate and do it.

Do you think your company needs a specific person in charge of social media or a base level of understanding and expanded savvy/skill set in social media?

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