Big news in the world of social media. The New York Times just became the first newspaper to have more Facebook friends than print subscribers. Chris Snider, an Iowan who follows the press' adoption of social media, also points out that the Wisconsin State Journal has made big gains in its Facebook presence, with over 1,600 friends. The Cap Times has about half that number. (Hey, Comrade John just walked into Ancora's!)
This news coincides with a landmark event in the history of Sconz Nation: The Sconz's 300th facebook friend.
Setting up a Facebook account was one of the first things I did after creating The Sconz in May 2009. Instead of setting up a fan page, which many experienced facebook users would no doubt ignore, I set up a personal profile for The Sconz, knowing that nobody ignores a friend request.
The resulting persona, Wiss Sconz, proved a great way to immediately draw attention to the blog in the first few weeks. It wasn't until a few weeks in that it occurred to me that I should put updates of every blog post on my wall, to keep readers in touch with the blog at all times.
Twitter was the same thing, if not better. It also allowed me to tap into an older crowd, that was less interested in Facebook and saw the simpler alternative in Twitter as more practical.
But it wasn't until last week that I realized that The Sconz's social media presence was still seriously lacking. My gains in Facebook and Twitter had stagnated. Social media networks should be more than just a short cut to blog posts and articles. They need to foster a high level of interaction with other members.
Luckily, my increased vigilance has paid off. Just yesterday I got over 20 friend requests, largely due to a number of existing friends who "recommended" Wiss Sconz to their politically-engaged Facebook acquaintances.
So please, friend Wiss Sconz on Facebook and follow The Sconz on Twitter, and join in the 24/7 dialogue on state and local affairs, as well as other aspects of Sconzzery that I don't touch upon on the blog.
