I agree that news organizations should interact with readers on Facebook, Twitter, wherever they can find them. No question. And as I’ve mentioned, the N. Y. Times has more going on its Facebook fan page than at Times People, so that supports your contention. But I do think that people think of their various social networks as different groups for different purposes — one for actual “social” interactions (Facebook, MySpace), one for professional interactions (LinkedIn), perhaps one at the enterprise level for interacting with co-workers, etc. Usually these are referred to as silos. So the question is, is there room for another silo based on news, and will people want to interact as part of another group, for this other purpose of sharing and digesting news. My feeling is that they will. The moderate success of the individual newspaper web sites I list seems to support that. Another example: I’ve been part of a small network called Metafilter for years — its a social network built not so much around news as around “the best of the web” — links to interesting content of all kinds. Most people there, I’m sure, are also on various other networks.

The problem with this thinking is two-fold, and you can take this from the flip side of your own stats — one in three people already have a social network they enjoy, and in my case it’s already three. I’m invested now, and it’s just too much work, absent a strong affinity hook, to make me monitor yet another site where I’ve established my connectivity. Second, on the subject of affinity, online newspapers are so general that, in an ocean of Internet niches, the only thing they have to offer users as affinity is their locale.

I’m not saying it isn’t possible for online newspapers to succeed in this space, but I’m more impressed by efforts like Gannett’s to circle the wagons around working mothers, or even a That’s Racin community around NASCAR. Otherwise, I think the better strategy would be to leverage and engage Facebook and other already existing social nets in a kind of two-way conversation. Facebook’s open API makes it incredibly simple to develop applications and widgets that can be shared and become viral within a MUCH larger community. There are even smart scenarios where newspapers could employ such scripts to take their customers’ campaigns viral just by making them shareable on the other big social networks.

If newspapers had bought this line 15 years ago, Koz could have been Facebook, but I think it’s already a different game. Having seen many failed community building efforts from newspapers, I think it’s really time to think about how publishers can leverage the existing networks in smarter ways.

Realize that users, just by becoming a “fan” of something on Facebook, broadcast to their entire network. Watch the Facebook newsfeed at work. Give people something to share, because the average Facebook profile has 150 friends and that’s a massive multiplier effect.

Being Digital means being everywhere your user can find you and using your true leverage — as the stuff that people are talking ABOUT, to get out there in little viral snippets, widgets, or half a dozen other great applications that can make you part of your users’ lives.

As a final note, i think it’s amazing in a story like this that you didn’t use the word Twitter in the body of your story. To your credit, you clearly know it well, since you’re calling in relevant posts in the right rail. But just for the record, Twitter is a social network, even though it looks nothing like the ones you’re building.

Great piece, important topic, huge imperative for action; I’d just draw a different conclusion. (Blog about this at Newzmaven.com too.)