Is USA Today's 'Social Media Lounge' A Little Late To The Party?
by Ron Callari
With legacy newspapers falling by the wayside and CNN worried that Facebook and Twitter might be stealing its thunder, is it any wonder that USA Today would want to rethink how to interact in the Web 2.0 environment? The old slogan if you can't beat 'em join 'em couldn't be any more apropos as traditional media outlets either mimic or recreate best practices found in the social media space. But in either event, is USA Today doing too little too late?
It appears from their press releases, USA Today is looking for ways to engage the reader where they can jump-start conversations about what works best for them. However when you go to their newly created microsite, it doesn't appear to 
be much more than a blog and event site, called the Social Media Lounge. Not to say they should create a full-blown social network after other legacy newspapers like the Wall Street Journal have failed at trying - but then what exactly is the number one newspaper in the land trying to do differently?
Even the Web site was not easy to find. It took me a couple of attempts searching under variations of "USA Today Social Media Lounge," as their Web site URL is not intuitive; i.e. http://www.usatoday.com/marketing/media_lounge/index.html. And while you can link to the 'blog' page from the 'Social Media Lounge' site, for the life of me I could not find a link on the blog page that linked back to the microsite?
It does appear that there is an organizational shifting of personnel. Wendy Matney, USA Today's director of digital marketing announced the development of a social media team and the addition of a staff member 
Brian Dresherto the digital marketing team. Former online 
Alexandra Nicholsonmarketing manager, Brian Dresher has moved into the role of manager of social media and digital partnerships, while Alexandra Nicholson now heads up social media strategy. She was previously the paper's Communications Manager.
In addition to manning a USA Today corporate Twitter account, the pair will helm the USA Today Social Media Lounge blog with the slogan "We're all in this together." Their promo pitch describes the microsite as "a living, breathing look at what USA Today is doing every day through marketing, communications and social media efforts." Readers can also expect "tips, case studies, best practices and general feedback on social media."
Doesn't sound too revolutionary? Yes, there is a Twitter feed on the blog. However when you review USA Today's Twitter account, while they have built a sizeable following of 46,300+, they in turn are only following 89 users. For a news organization that wants to engage with their readers, they're not setting an example here.
USA Today's main Twitter Account
However, in their defense, they have created a new Social Media Lounge profile, and while they only have 1822 followers, they are following 1903. However, it's curious as to why this account is titled, "USATMediaLounge" and not the intuitive name, "USATSocMediaLounge" or "USATSocialMedia"? Perhaps too many characters, I guess?
USA Social Media Lounge Twitter account
But the real proof of the social media pudding came when I searched on Google News using the keywords "USA Today" and "social media" and only came up with 2 blog postings. Either my theory presented in this blog is correct, or USA Today hasn't yet put enough muscle behind this whole 'Social Media Lounge' promotional idea? 
Google SERPs for USA Today & Social Media
With only two "News" SERPs (search engine result pages), I hope this doesn't mean that there just isn't enough interest in this topic and my blog will end up in the Google News graveyard, along with these other two.
Your thoughts readers? Am I missing something here, or has USA Today missed the social media boat? And if "We're all in this together," I hope it's not a sinking ship?
USA Today missing the boat?
Ron Callari
Social Media, Semantic Technology, Digitial Media & Trends Writer
InventorSpot.com
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by Anonymous
Exploring Social Media in PR
http://bit.ly/9ntCAo I this will be of interest. I think many companies have bee caught 'lounging' and are suddenly waking up to the social media phenomenon.
by Anonymous
Response from USA TODAY
Hi Ron, I saw your post “Is USA Today's 'Social Media Lounge' A Little Late To The Party?” and just wanted to connect for a moment. First, let me thank you for taking the time to write about our developing social media efforts at USA TODAY. We appreciate the comments and feedback and it’s good to see a healthy discussion online and on Twitter.
In terms of what we’ve been doing in social media, this week’s announcement is really more of an internal restructuring and reassignment of roles, aligning Brian and me with the work we’ve already been doing since the end of 2008. We offer a broader description of the team, our background and roles, here: http://usatmedialounge.wordpress.com/about/
In his former role, Brian created opportunities for distribution of USA TODAY content via RSS, widgets, podcasts and YouTube. He’s also been critical in developing the more than 250k followers we have across more than 100 Twitter handles being managed by USA TODAY sections and journalists. This is in addition to developing really savvy digital relationships, like the one we have with Fark.com and the sponsorship of their Geek tab. This new role and set of responsibilities will allow Brian the opportunity to focus on what he does best, counseling on social media and developing successful digital relationships that benefit the readers and our brand. You can see the USA TODAY Twitter index at twitter.usatoday.com, and here’s a link to the Fark release: http://www.usatoday.com/marketing/media_kit/pressroom/2009/releases/1124...
My new role shows that USA TODAY recognizes how traditional communications has changed. While in the past, I worked on digital platforms as communications manager, now I’m lucky enough to do it full time. My role focuses on strategy, social media as a public relations platform and on-site efforts, working closely with Editorial to integrate and leverage social media. It’s a nice shift and I’m glad to join Digital Marketing in this effort.
I am sorry that you had a hard time finding the Social Media Lounge through traditional search. We’re using the URL social.usatoday.com and are in the process of moving it over to USATODAY.com, which will make navigation and search much easier. The move (happening Wednesday) will also give readers all the community tools offered on USATODAY.com, which was the first major newspaper website to offer commenting and reader engagement way back in early 2007. The site that now offers members the opportunity to message each other, create their own forums, contact reporters directly, and we think it’s a great fit with our social media efforts.
While the Social Media Lounge is a part of our efforts, it’s just one element and it builds on the overall Media Lounge which was created in 2007. You can read about the Social Media Lounge, and how it fits in with the Media Lounge here. We started the blog at the end of January as a place to share the content we were creating for our own internal purposes. It naturally became a public-facing place for our social media efforts, and a great tool to share what we’re doing at USA TODAY. We hope to grow it, but our intent is to use it as a communications tool highlighting the great work we’ve all be doing at USA TODAY.
USA TODAY has long served as a conversation catalyst, and we’ve already seen the tangible benefits of being involved in social media. We realize users are increasingly turning to social networks as their primary destination for information, and this is why we participate in these communities.
On a personal note, please feel free to contact me directly if you want to chat or have any questions. We’re always looking for conversation-starters, and you are definitely a great one. Maybe next time I’m in New York, or you’re in DC, we can grab coffee.
Again, thank you for your thoughtful post and I hope we can remain in touch.
All the best,
Alexandra Nicholson
Social Media Strategist
Twitter: @USATMediaLounge
Facebook: facebook.com/usatoday.com
Blog: social.usatoday.com
by Anonymous
It is a very pertinent
It is a very pertinent discussion about the pace of social media and USA today. It is natural to be apprehensive in view of the speed and the consistency with which the social networking sites like facebook and tweeter etc are growing. To be relevant according to the time and space, we need to think seriously and get involved in a massive way.
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by Anonymous
Social media in web world
Social media in web world moves so fast that every thing falling way behind. It is good to see that the USA Today is doing its best to keep the readers engaged. I hope it would catch the pace, once it understands and addresses the readers likes and preferences. I think USA Today should adopt the tricks of social media to stay relevant. thanks. professional email marketing
by Anonymous
Is it only the USA Today
Is it only the USA Today lagging behind in field of social media renaissance? Aren't we as individuals still aping? Watch the middle east they're the melting pot? Squeezing out the real juice from social media? T's time to ponder hard. bed bug on bed
by Anonymous
If you want to be in the
If you want to be in the mainstream of social media, you need to be upgrading, trendy and abreast of all the happenings around you. It is the social media which keeps one relevant and useful. sell a business
by Anonymous
By nature, humans are
By nature, humans are gregarious animals. They like to live in the colonies or groups. It is easy to exchange ideas and feelings on common matters. Thanks to information and technology, world is shrinking fast in to a global village in true sense. You can feel the closeness and link vibration of a group in the changed environment. Social media has changed the meaning of functioning of relations and involvements. In order to be relevant you need to be learning the new social or group traits. the forex signals review
by Anonymous
Social media like facebook,
Social media like facebook, twitter etc. are proving all the pandits wrong as far as space and speed with which these elements are moving beyond human perceptions. These are capable scoring great runs in a shortest possible time. They spread like wild fire and engulf the entire target. It would be wise to note these potentials. used car parts
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