A reporter at a major national newspaper suggested that we hash out some best practices for maximizing the social web utility in the Post-Chronicle. As paper and online media merge, it's important to be clear on the ways in which the treatment of content changes, and what opportunities exist outside the limitations of the printed page that enable a broader, more contextual, and more networked approach to gathering and distributing content.

Transparency

One major concern in the transition to the Web (for some people) is a loss of accountability in reporting. The best solution to this problem is absolute transparency throughout the process. This is not only about where ad dollars are coming from (which will be critical as new models for online advertising on editorial sites develop), but also the step-by-step of the investigative process. Pulling back the curtain on the reporter's job is doubles as a great way to enrich the reader's experience of accessing information, providing context as well as generating additional multi-media content that gives readers an opportunity to participate in the news-gathering process.

Content Sharing

A number of existing newspapers have systems in place that allow readers to email or share stories that they find worthwhile. The New York Times' TimesPeople creates a personal log for recommending articles and allows you to build your own network of news readers with whom to share your favorite pieces. How can content sharing continue to innovate beyond emails and links to make use of simple but effective tools dedicated to information-distribution networks?

Sorting and Aggregating

It's useful to have a variety of ways to order and search content. On a news site, where there's a constant stream of content going up throughout the day, it's particularly helpful to be able to view the most recently published pieces, and to see them in a survey layout that allows you to click according to interest. New York Times's article skimmer and Etsy's recent listings aggregator are both good examples. The notcot.com family of sites (including tastespotting.com) is also a great example of functionality and design for organizing user-generated content and making it easy for the user to see what's available.

Many of these questions are also being addressed at Media 2.0 Best Practices.